268.09773 
M624n 

Andrew  H.  Mills. 

A  Hundred  Years  of  Sunday 

School  History  in  Illinois 


U1IN01S  HISTORICAL  SURVEY 


268.09773 


A    HUNDRED    YEARS    OF 
SUNDAY  SCHOOL  HISTORY 


IN  ILLINOIS  Illlll 


1818-1918 

A  HUNDRED  YEARS 

. 

OF 

SUNDAY  SCHOOL  HISTORY 

IN  ILLINOIS 


A  MOSAIC 


Arranged  by 

ANDREW  H.   MILLS,    A.   M. 
Decatur,  Illinois 


.  09-773 

A' 


M  C, 


FOREWORD. 

ANDREW  H.  MILLS. 

Mr.  Mills  has  been  a  member  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the 
International  Sunday  School  Association  since  1902,  when  he  took  the 
place  of  B.  F.  Jacobs.  During  all  this  time  he  has  been  greatly  interested 
in  the  work  of  the  association  and  one  of  the  most  active  members  upon 
its  committee.  Mr.  Mills  is  a  man  who  thinks  for  himself  and  thinks 
far  into  the  future.  He  is  a  man  of  large  vision  and  always  helpful 
in  his  counsel  upon  the  committee.  His  choice  Christian  spirit  is, 
and  we  shall  trust  will  continue  for  many  years  to  be,  a  mighty  asset  in 
our  great  work. 

I  know  of  no  one  who  is  better  qualified  to  write  a  history  of  the 
Sunday  School  Work  in  Illinois  than  he.  He  has  been  connected  with 
the  Illinois  work  much  longer  than  he  has  with  the  International 
and  his  influence  in  that  association  has  always  bulked  large  for  its 
benefit.  His  sterling  character  and  his  ability  to  make  and  hold  friends 
have  made  Mr.  Mills  a  man  well  worth  knowing. 

(Signed)     MARION"  LAWRENCE. 


It  has  been  my  happy  privilege  to  number  Mr.  Andrew  H.  Mills 
as  one  of  my  choicest  personal  friends  and  most  appreciated  comrades 
in  our  North  American  Sunday  School  Army.  His  intimate  relationship 
with  the  Jacobs,  Messrs.  Reynolds,  Dr.  Hamill,  and  other  leaders  in  the 
Illinois  Sunday  School  Association  peculiarly  qualify  him  to  write  the 
history  of  Illinois  Sunday  School  work. 

We  are  all  indebted  to  him  for  the  painstaking  piece  of  work  he 
has  done  in  writing  this  history.  It  will  help  us  to  be  grateful  to  those 
who  have  been  both  our  pioneers  and  benefactors  in  our  beloved  common- 
wealth. This  record  will  also  help  us  in  our  building  for  the  future. 
Those  who  build  the  superstructure  need  to  know  the  foundation. 
Those  who  enact  new  laws  need  to  know  the  common  law.  We  commend 
a  study  of  this  history  to  all  who  are  called  to  places  of  leadership  in  the 
Illinois  Sunday  School  Association. 

(Signed)  W.  C.  PBARCE. 

For  more  than  a  score  of  years  it  has  been  my  privilege  to  be  associ- 
ated with  Mr.  Andrew  H.  Mills  in  Organized  Sunday  School  Association 
Work.  Tribute  is  due  to  his  faithfulness,  when  president  of  the  Illinois 
Sunday  School  Association  and  as  chairman  of  its  Executive  Committee 
for  many  years,  in  addition  to  his  active  interest  on  several  sub-com- 
mittees. 


Illinois  honored  herself  by  appointing  him  as  her  representative  on 
the  International  Sunday  School  Committee  of  which  he  is  still  a  mem- 
ber, entitled  by  long  service  to  life  membership.  He  made  it  his 
business  to  attend  the  committee  meetings  and  to  do  his  part.  Many 
problems  have  been  referred  to  him  for  his  opinion  or  decision. 

For  a  period  of  eight  years  he  served  as  chairman  of  the  Elementary 
Committee  (for  the  Children's  Division)  of  the  International  Sunday 
School  Association.  He  was  always  ready  to  devote  time  and  thought  to 
plans  for  promoting  its  work.  No  committee  member  ever  rendered 
more  faithful,  untiring  devotion  than  he.  His  life  has  been  rich  in  bless- 
ing for  the  Sunday  School  cause.  In  blessing  others  his  own  life  has 
been  enriched. 

(Signed)  MARY  FOSTER  BRYNER. 


"One  Hundred  Years  of  Illinois  Sunday  School  History"  would 
not  be  complete  without  note  of  the  life  and  work  of  Mr.  Andrew  H. 
Mills,  of  Decatur. 

Mr.  Mills  was  born  in  Putman  County,  Illinois,  October  6,  1851,  of 
Quaker  parentage.  After  his  graduation  from  college  and  in  the  law 
he  settled  permanently  in  Decatur.  He  is  an  exemplary  Christian 
gentleman;  an  ideal  citizen  who  has  always  stood  for  the  best  in  every- 
thing. He  was  an  acknowledged  leader  in  the  campaign  which  made 
Decatur  a  "dry"  city.  He  was  for  eighteen  years  the  enterprising  super- 
intendent of  the  Sunday  School  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of, 
Decatur  and  now  for  manj^  years  has  been  the  faithful  teacher  of  the 
Sisterhood  Organized  Bible  Class,  a  class  numbering  over  one  hundred 
and  fifty  members. 

My  personal  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Mills  dates  from  the  early 
Spring  of  1897,  when  I  was  attending  a  series  of  Sunday  School  Insti- 
tutes in  Macon  County  with  George  W.  Miller.  I  was  greatly  impressed 
by  Mr.  Mills'  ability,  his  strength  of  character,  and  his  remarkable 
interest  in  organized  Sunday  School  work.  He  was  at  that  time  an 
officer  of  the  Macon  County  Sunday  School  Association. 

At  the  State  Convention  in  Belleville,  May,  1897,  Mr.  Mills  was 
made  vice  president  of  the  State  Association;  in  1899  he  was  chosen  as 
a  member  of  the  State  Executive  Committee;  in  1900,  at  the  State  Con- 
vention in  Paris  he  was  elected  president  of  the  State  Association  and 
again  at  Chicago  in  1914,  making  the  fourth  man  to  serve  twice  as 
president  of  our  State  Association,  the  others  being  D.  L.  Moody,  Dr. 
P.  G.  Gillett  and  William  Eeynolds.  From  that  time  he  has  been  an 
influential  member  of  the  State  Executive  Committee.  In  1902  he 
succeeded  B.  F.  Jacobs  as  chairman  of  the  committee,  serving  con- 
tinuously until  1914  when,  at  his  own  insistance,  he  was  relieved  of  the 
chairmanship.  On  account  of  his  great  experience,  his  personal  knowl- 
edge of  the  workers  and  the  work,  and  his  willingness  to  spare  no  pains 
in  its  compilation,  Mr.  Mills  was  chosen  to  write  this  volume. 


Mr.  Mills  is  an  eloquent,  forceful  speaker.  His  life  has  counted 
for  Jesus  Christ..  He  has  made  a  great  contribution  toward  the  better- 
ment of  the  world. 

(Signed)  CHARLES  E.  SCHENCK. 


The  preparation  of  this  Sunday  School  history  was  authorized  by 
the  Executive  Committee  of  the  State  Sunday  School  Association,  and 
Mr.  Andrew  H.  Mills  of  Decatur  selected  to  perform  this  service. 
After  its  completion,  and  the  delivery  of  a  part  of  it  as  an  address  before 
the  State  Sunday  School  Convention  at  Peoria,  in  May,  1918,  a  special 
committee  was  directed  to  arrange  for  its  publication.  As  a  result  of 
this  action,  and  on  account  of  its  value  as  a  contribution  to  Illinois 
history,  it  is  printed  in  a  volume  issued  by  the  State  Historical  Society, 
and  also  in  this  special  edition  published  by  the  Executive  Committee. 

J.  H.   COLLINS,  Springfield. 

LYMAN  B.  VOSE,  Macomb. 

W.   S.  REARIOK,  Ashland. 

Committee  on  Publication. 


A  HUNDRED  YEARS  OF  ILLINOIS  SUNDAY  SCHOOL 

HISTORY. 


A  MOSAIC. 

(By  Andrew  H.  Mills,  A.  M.) 

The  mighty  work  of  Jesus  Christ,  wrought  by  and  through  the 
consecrated  men  and  women  of  the  Illinois  Sunday  School  Association 
during  the  past  one  hundred  years — years  of  the  beginning,  growth  and 
expansion  of  the  plans  and  methods  of  Sunday  School  work  within  our 
borders,  was  of  such  variety  and  magnitude  and  its  usefulness  so  far 
reaching  on  the  destiny,  not  only  of  this  great  Commonwealth,  but 
of  the  United  States,  of  North  America,  and  of  the  entire  World,  that 
to  give  a  just  and  fair  history  of  the  same  within  the  time  allotted  to 
this  period,  is  a  task  far  beyond  my  ability. 

It  was  only  at  the  united  call  of  your  Program  Committee  that 
I  reluctantly  consented  to  prepare  this  paper  for  this  occasion. 

My  residence  and  acquaintance  have  been  largely  circumscribed  to 
a  small  portion  of  this  great  State.  I  Have  been  compelled  to  rely, 
for  much  of  this  paper,  on  the  records  of  the  earnest  and  eloquent 
addresses  by  the  God-touched  men  and  women — the  Grand  old  Guard — 
speaking  out  of  their  wide  acquaintance  with  the  prominent  leaders  of 
the  early  days — the  rich  personal  experience  and  constructive  work  of 
this  great  organization  that  meets  to-day  to  join  in  the  one  hundredth 
anniversary  of  this  great  Commonwealth  whose  influence  extends  from 
the  rising  of  the  sun  to  the  going  down  thereof. 

You  will  recall  that  the  ancient  workers  in  glass  and  other* 
materials  by  patient  and  skillful  combinations  were  able  to  produce 
wonderfully  beautiful  designs,  and  as  Milton,  in  Paradise  Lost,  says: 

"Each  beauteous  flower,   Iris  all  hues,  roses,   and  jessamin, 

Eear'd  high  their  flourish'd  heads  between  and  wrought  mosaic," 
so  I  have  used  many  of  these  beautiful  pieces  of  just  appreciation  and 
honest  tribute  to  the  devotion,  ability  and  sterling  worth  of  various 
members  of  the  Old  Guard  of  Illinois,  as  one  after  another  of  their 
number  has  heard  the  Master's  Voice  "It  is  enough,"  and  my  prayer 
has  been  during  its  preparation  that  I  might  take  these  bits  of  loving 
service,  often  without  designation  or  quotation,  in  all  their  rainbow 
colors,  together  with  others,  out  of  my  own  grateful  heart  and  under  His 
Guiding  Hand  so  arrange  all  these  into  a  Eeal  Mosaic  that  shall  attract 
and  inspire  this  generation  to  give  and  consecrate  to  this  same  Blessed 
Master  the  choicest  service  of  which  it  is  capable.  My  passion  has  been 
that  He  may  so  guide  my  hand,  head,  and  heart,in  its  preparation,  that 


His  Matchless  Face  shall  be  inwrought  into  every  page  of  this  paper 
so  that  hereafter  whoever  gazes  upon  it  shall  see,  not  only  "The  King  in 
His  Beauty"  but  feel  the  mighty  power  of  that  Eternal  Character  and 
cry  out  of  his  soul's  depth,  "Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  ?" 

THE  BEGINNING. 

The  beginning  of  the  Illinois  Sunday  School  Association  reaches 
back  thirty-eight  years  before  our  beloved  State  was  born,  to  Eobert 
Eaikes,  and  finds  its  genesis  in  the  utterly  wretched,  intellectual  and 
spiritual  conditions  that,  dominated  England  and  the  Continent  during 
the  closing  of  the  eighteenth  century.  The  noble  and  high  born  made 
a  mock  of  religion,  and  the  gulf  between  them  and  the  middle  and 
poorer  estates  was  impassable.  The  middle  classes  took  coloring  from 
the  godlessness  and  licentiousness  of  the  nobility;  while  the  poor  from 
mine,  factory  and  field  had  touched  the  very  bottom  of  ignorance  and 
sinfulness.  There  is  no  more  pathetic  picture  in  all  history  than  that 
of  Wesley,  flower  of  university  scholarship,  shut  out  from  the  pulpits 
of  a  debauched  church,  and  forced  to  preach  the  Word  of  Life  to 
surging  mobs  from  his  father's  tombstone.  Side  by  side  with  that 
picture,  place  its  counterpart  of  the  printer,  Eobert  Eaikes,  turning  from 
the  hopeless  endeavor  to  convert  the  criminals  in  English  jails  and  who, 
in  going  through  a  crowded  part  of  the  city  of  Gloucester,  noticed  the 
large  number  of  destitute  gamins  thronging  the  back  streets  and  alleys* 
in  all  kinds  of  play — many  even  quarreling  and  fighting.  His  heart 
was  touched  by  the  sight  and  he  determined  to  see  what  could  be  done 
to  help  these  children  in  their  life  struggle.  He  gave  the  matter  con- 
siderable thought  and  then  hired  four  good  women,  for  a  shilling  a 
Sunday,  to  gather  these  children  together  and  teach  them  the  rudiments 
of  reading,  spelling  and  church  catechism  interspersed  with  godly 
admonitions,  thus  trying  to  make  them  better  prepared  for  the  duties 
of  manhood  and  womanhood.  Some  people-  ridiculed  and  opposed  Mr. 
Eaikes'  efforts  to  help  the  children.  Some  narrow-minded  Pharisaical 
clergy  claimed  that  it  was  desecration  of  the  Sabbath,  even  a  species  of 
work.  We  are  forced  to  believe  that  these  descendants  of  the  scribes 
of  the  Master's  day  were  willing  that  these  children  should  be  left  to 
grow  up  to  gamble,  fight,  swear,  lie  and  steal  rather  than  to  lend  them 
a  helping  hand  and  teach  them  the  Golden  Eule.  Most  of  those 
children,  if  they  had  been  asked,  would  have  admitted  that  it  was  easier 
or  more  to  their  purpose  to  swear  than  to  study — to  lie  than  tell  the 
truth — to  steal  than  to  work.  It  was  doubtless  work  for  both  pupils 
and  teachers.  No  cowboy  ever  had  a  tougher  contest  with  a  fighting 
bronco  than  those  teachers  had  with  some  of  those  rough,  restless  boys 
— with  4,000  muscles  to  keep  them  going  and  none  to  keep  them  still. 
Apparently  the  school  was  not  a  great  success  and  yet  it  was  a  begin- 
ning, a  bud  out  of  which  great  harvests  have  grown,  not  only  in  England 
and  Illinois,  but  the  entire  world.  Dr.  John  Potts  said  at  the  Sterling 
convention  in  3903  that  in  1786  Bishop  Francis  Asbury  of  the  Methodist 
Church  started  the  first  Sunday  School  in  America,  in  the  home  of 


8 

Thomas  Crenshaw,  in  Hanover  County,  Virginia,  and  in  1790,  that 
church  ordered  that  Sunday  Schools  be  organized  to  begin  at  6  o'clock 
in  the  forenoon  and  remain  in  session  until  10  o'clock  and  begin  again 
at  2  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  and  to  continue  till  6  o'clock  when  it 
did  not  interfere  with  public  worship.  Those  days  were  only  132  years 
from  this  centennial.  What  would  the  people  of  to-day  think  of  a 
program  of  that  character?  Every  Methodist  within  the  sound  of  my 
voice  is  saying  to  himself:  "Thank  goodness  I  didn't  live  when  my 
great-grandfather  was  a  boy."  I  hardly  think  many  of  us  would  want 
quite  such  a  Billy  Sunday-Teddy  Eoosevelt  strenuosity  Sunday  School 
session,  yet  to-day  the  fact  is  that  one  session  per  Sunday  of  from  one 
hour  to  an  hour  and  a  half  is  the  rule  in  most  of  the  Sunday  Schools  in 
Illinois.  Transplanted  to  America  the  Raikes  idea  soon  secured  what 
had  been  denied  it  in  the  land  of  its  birth,  first  the  toleration,  then  the 
friendship,  and  finally  the  adoption  of  the  churches.  Dr.Hamill  said: 
"The  first  distinctly  church  Sunday  School  was  formed  in  Pittsburgh 
in  1811.  At  that  time  it  was  estimated  there  were  100  Sunday  Schools 
upon  the  North  American  Continent."  Here,  as  in  England,  the 
Eaikes  idea  quickened  the  pulse  of  secular  education.  As  truly  as  it 
may  be  asserted  that  the  Eaikes  Sunday  School  was  the  precursor,  the 
mother  indeed  of  the  English  public  school  system:  so  in  America 
it  became  the  inspiration  and  stimulus  to  all  forms  of  Education, 
secular  and  religious. 

The  first  Sunday  School  organized  in  Chicago  was  in  the  year  1833 
by  Eev.  Jeremiah  Porter,  then  chaplain  of  the  soldiers'  station  at  the 
Fort.  The  first  building  occupied  for  Sunday  School  purposes  was  a 
frame  building  erected  at  the  corner  of  Franklin  and  Water  streets  by 
Dr.  Temple.  It  was  a  Union  School.  With  the  growth  of  the  city, 
schools  continued  to  multiply  until  the  First  Mission  School  was  organ- 
ized by  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church.  This  was  known  as  The 
Bethel,  and  its  superintendent  for  many  years  was  Mr.  S.  Lockwood 
Brown.  The  Second  Mission  School  of  the  city,  also  established  by  the 
Second  Presbyterian  Church,  was  called  the  Taylor  Street  Mission, 
of  which  Mr.  Samuel  D.  Ward  was  for  many  years  superintendent. 
The  life  of  the  school  has  been  perpetuated  in  what  is  now  known  as 
Mosely  Mission. 

The  first  Mission  School  organized  by  the  Baptists  of  Chicago 
was  known  as  the  New  Street  Mission,  on  the  corner  of  what  is  now 
Seventeenth  and  Dearborn  streets. This  school  was  opened  on  the  last 
Sunday  in  September,  1856,  Mr.  B.  F.  Jacobs  being  the  superintendent. 

Mr.  D.  L.  Moody  came  to  Chicago  early  in  '57  and  organized  the 
North  Market  Mission  School,  which  has  been  continued  and  is  now 
known  as  the  Moody  Church.  The  West  Market  Mission  School  was 
organized  by  members  of  the  Third  Presbyterian  Church,  and  Mr.  E.  M. 
Guliford  was  for  many  years  superintendent. 

During  the  fall  and  winter  of  1857-58  what  is  known  as  the  great 
revival  occured.  Noon  meetings  for  prayer  were  established  in  Chicago 
and  other  large  cities.  The  churches  throughout  the  whole  country 
were  affected  by  this  revival.  In  the  spring  of  '58  the  Young  Men's 


Christian  Association  of  Chicago  was  organized  and  the  young  men 
of  the  churches  became  very  active  in  Christian  work. 

In  the  fall  of  1857  an  organization  was  affected  in  Chicago  which 
was  known  as  the  Cook  County  Sunday  School  Convention,  the  plan 
being  to  have  organizations  in  the  various  counties  of  the  State, 
auxiliary  to  the  State  Organization. 

The  Cook  County  Sunday  School  Convention  was  reorganized  and 
an  Institute  held  in  November,  1864.  As  a  result  of  this  Convention 
the  Chicago  Sunday  School  Union  was  organized,  and  plans  were  made 
for  a  series  of  Institutes  to  be  held  during  the  year. 

An  Autumnal  Eeunion  of  the  Chicago  Sunday  School  Union,  the 
Cook  County  Sunday  School  Convention  and  the  Northwestern  Sunday 
School  Teachers'  Institute  was  held  in  the  City  of  Chicago,  November 
7-10,  1865.  This  meeting  was  a  gratifying  success,  and  resulted  in  the 
consolidation  of  the  three  organizations  under  the  name  of  the  Cook 
County  Sunday  School  Union,  with  three  departments:  (1)  The 
County  Department,  (2)  The  City  Department,  (3)  The  Institute. 
The  meeting  closed  with  a  grand  Festival  and  Social  at  Bryan  Hall, 
Friday  evening,  November  10,  at  which  Phillip  Phillips  sang  several  of 
his  sweetest  songs. 

In  January,  1866,  the  first  number  of  a  monthly  magazine  called 
"The  Sunday  School  Teacher"  was  issued  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Chicago  Sunday  School  Union.  The  editorial  committee  consisted  of 
five  members,  with  Eev.  J.  H.  Vincent  as  Chairman  and  Phillip  Phillips 
being  musical  editor. 

The  offices  of  the  Cook  County  Sunday  School  Union  were  estab- 
lished in  the  First- M.  E.  Church  Block,  corner  Washington  and  Clark 
streets,  Eev.  J.  H.  Vincent,  editor-in-chief  of  "The  Sunday  School 
Teacher,"  being  General  Superintendent  of  the  Sunday  School  work 
in  the  county. 

The  printed  report  of  Mr.  E.  Payson  Porter,  Corresponding  Secre- 
tary of  the  Cook  County  Sunday  School  Union  -  for  the  year  ending 
May  30,  1866,  shows  that  there  were  at  that  time  in  the  City  of  Chicago 
eighty-three  church  schools  and  twenty-six  mission  schools  having  a 
membership  of  25,635.  The  total  reported  for  the  county  was  141 
schools,  with  a  membership  of  28,356. 

The  records  of  the  Cook  County  Sunday  School  Union  were  des- 
troyed in  the  fire  of  1871.  The  work  was  reorganized  in  1872  and 
from  that  time  it  continued  to  increase  in  interest  and  power  year  by 
year. 

Through  the  influence  of  the  Eev.  Doctor,  later  bishop,  John  H. 
Vincent  and  Mr.  B.  F.  Jacobs,  Dr.  C.  E.  Blackall  had  turned  aside  com- 
pletely from  his  professional  life  as  a  physician  to  take  up  Sunday-school 
work.  Dr.  BlackalPs  first  public  work  in  Sunday-school  lines  was  as 
general  secretary  of  the  Cook  County  Association  during  1867.  He  thus 
came  into  touch  with  most  of  the  great  leaders  of  that  time,  not  only  in 
Illinois  but  elsewhere,  a  period  of  delightful  work,  which  in  many  cases 
extended  beyond  the  bounds  of  Cook  County. 


10 

At  the  expiration  of  his  first  year  of  service  with  the  Cook  County 
Association,  he  resigned  to  take  up  the  work  of  the  American  Baptist 
Publication  Society,  in  which  he  has  remained  ever  since.  It  was  his 
great  privilege  and  pleasure  to  know  intimately  the  men  who  were  then 
rapidly  making  Sunday-school  history. 

In  January,  1881,  Mr.  W.  B.  Jacobs  was  chosen  Superintendent 
of  the  County  work,  which  was  then  known  as  the  Cook  County  Sunday 
School  Association. 

The  holding  of  monthly  Superintendents'  socials  was  a  feature  for 
nineteen  years  while  Mr.  W.  B.  Jacobs  was  connected  with  the  Asso- 
ciation. 

At  the  annual  meeting  in  1900,  Mr.  W.  B.  Jacobs  tendered  his 
resignation  as  Secretary  and  Mr.  W.  C.  Pearce  of  the  Illinois  Sunday 
School  field  workers  was  chosen  as  his  successor. 

Mr.  W.  C.  Pearce  served  for  three  years  and  resigned  in  April, 
1903,  to  take  up  work  with  the  International  Sunday  School  Association. 
Teacher  Training  and  Adult  work  were  special  departments  developed 
in  his  time. 

In  September,  1903,  Mr.  Charles  E.'  Hauck  was  called  as  Acting 
Secretary  and  at  the  following  April  Convention  was  employed  as  General 
Secretary.  He  served  the  Association  in  this  capacity  until  1909,  which 
was  the  Fiftieth  Annual  Convention  of  the  Association.  He  was 
followed  by  Charles  E.  Hall,  who  after  two  years  was  succeeded  by  Mr. 
Beeman  as  General  Secretary. 

Many  schools  were  organized  in  different  parts  of  the  State  in  the 
early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century.  I  learned  of  one  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  State  that  was  organized  as  early  as  1808,  'but  I  have  nothing 
satisfactory  justifying  the  truth  of  the  statement. 

The  Mt.  Zion  Cumberland  Presbyterian  Church,  now  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  the  oldest  church  organization  of  any  denomination  in 
Macon  County,  was  established  April  24,  1830,  at  the  house  of  Rev. 
David  Foster,  who  was  its  first  pastor.  The  first  Sunday  School  organ- 
ized in  Macon  County  was  organized  by  said  Rev.  David  Foster,  at 
that  place  in  1831.  The  first  superintendent  was  James  Scott,  his 
assistant  was  Andrew  Wilson. 

Many  of  the  older  people  in  this  audience  will  recall  the  early  Sun- 
day School  days  when  we  received  the  little  tickets  and  ten  of  one  color 
was  equal  to  one  of  another  color.  Many  of  you  will  remember  the  first 
Sunday  School  Convention  you  attended.  I  remember  the  first  con- 
vention I,  as  a  mere  lad,  attended.  At  my  first  county  convention  at 
which  one  of  the  Mr.  Jacobs  was  present — I  can't  remember  whether  it 
was  B.  F.  or  W.  B.  Jacobs,  he  so  gripped  my  heart  and  life  that  I  felt 
the  upward  pull  all  these  years  and  all  I  have  been  able  to  do  in  Sun- 
day School  work,  I  owe,  under  God,  to  the  Godly  men  and  women 
I  have  met  in  this  greatest  of  all  earthly  endeavors  of  lifting  humanity 
into  the  very  presence  of  the  Master — like  the  four  friends  of  the  paralytic 
in  Jesus'  day,  that  He  may  speak  the  word  of  healing  and  life  to  him. 


11 

THE  ILLINOIS  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  CONVENTION. 

Dr.  Hazard  said  in  substance:  The  State  Sunday-school  Con- 
vention in  Illinois  has  been  a  very  great  power.  It  has  done  a  remark- 
able amount  of  good.  The  first  State  Sunday-school  Convention  in 
Illinois  was  held  in  Dixon  in  1859.  The  first  few  meetings  were  not  of 
remarkable  power.  In  1864  they  met  at  Springfield,  and  the  workers 
came  there  at  rather  an  early  hour  in  the  morning,  before  the  church 
was  opened;  and  they  found  a  window  loose  in  the  basement,  lifted  it 
out,  and  got  into  the  church,  and  there  by  themselves  held  a  little 
prayer-meeting  that  God  would  bless  that  Convention.  The  pastor  of 
the  church  came  in  while  they  were  so  engaged  and  opened  the  door 
with  his  key,  and  was  surprised  to  find  that  there  was  a  little  audience 
inside,  and  he  knelt  with  the  brethren  and  engaged  with  them  in  their 
devotions,  it  being  just  according  to  his  heart.  That  convention  was 
wonderfully  blessed.  No  convention  since  has  been  of  such  wonderful 
power.  It  is  said  that  ten  thousand  conversions  were  directly  traceable 
to  that  convention. 

Mr.  B.  F.  Jacobs  said  in  substance:  In  considering  the  influence 
this  organization  has  exerted,  it  is  well  to  think  how  greatly  it  has 
developed  and  helped  the  men  who  have  given  time  and  thought  to  the 
work.  Under  God,  it  has  been  instrumental  in  teaching  and  disciplin- 
ing some  of  the  best  workers  that  the  world  has  ever  known;  not  only 
these  who  may  be  referred  to,  but  many  others,  some  whose  names  can 
not  be  recalled,  have  caught  the  fire  here  and  have  gone  to  other  states 
and  territories  to  carry  forward  the  work  there,  and  are  now  numbered 
among  the  most  valuable  workers  in  those  fields.  For  several  years 
Illinois  stood  in  the  front  rank  and,  perhaps  it  .is  not  too  much  to  say 
that  there  is  no  other  territory  of  the  same  extent,  or  other  population 
of  the  same  number,  where  the  work  is  better  done,  or  further  advanced 
than  in  our  own  State. 

Looking  back  over  the  past,  we  are  assured  that  the  time  and  money 
expended  has  been  as  good  seed  in  good  soil  and  lias  produced  thirty, 
s^'xty,  and  an  hundred  fold.  Difficulties  there  have  been,  but  they  have 
only  proved  the  value  of  the  work,  and  like  Israel's  trial  in  the  wilder- 
ness, they  have  revealed  to  us  the  love  and  power  of  God. 

Mr.  William  Eeynolds  as  International  General  Secretary  said  in 
the  State  convention  in  1896  in  substance: 

If  I  am  of  any  use  in  this  world  in  this  work,  I  owe  it,  under  God, 
to  the  State  Sunday-school  Association  of  Illinois  and  to  the  county 
and  township  conventions  that  it  has  been  my  privilege  to  attend  for 
many  years. 

In  1864  Mr.  Moody  and  I  sat  together  in  Gen.  Howard's  head- 
quarters at  Cleveland,  Tenn.,  after  the  close  of  a  large  meeting  at  which 
Gen.  Howard  and  others  had  spoken.  Gen.  Howard  said  to  the  soldiers 
present^  "I  am  going  to  lead  you  in  a  few  days  against  the  enemy; 
what  will  be  the  result  of  the  battles  I  know  not,  nor  how  many  of  you 
will  come  out  alive  I  cannot  tell;  0  if  I  knew  every  one  of  you  were 
saved  for  God,  how  differently  would  I  marshall  you  against  the'  enemy." 


12 

Mr.  Moody  said  to  me,  "This  war  is  going  to  close  in  a  short  time; 
what  are  you  going  to  do  after  it  is  over  ?"  I  said,  "I  am  going  back  to 
my  business."  "But  what  are  you  going  to  do  for  God?"  I  replied, 
"I  have  not  thought."  Said  he,  "Do  you  know  what  the  greatest  work 
in  this  world  is  ?"  I  said,  "What  do  you  think  it  is?"  He  said,  "Teach- 
ing the  children  of  this  country  the  way  to  Christ  and  then  building 
them  up  in  Christ.  Do  you  know  that  the  Sunday-school  is  doing  that 
thing?  Let  us  go  into  the  Sunday-school  work;  you  come  to  Spring- 
field next  June,  we  are  going  to  have  a  State  convention;  Jacobs  is 
going  to  be  there;  let  us  try  to  capture  that  convention  and  try  to  make 
it  a  power  in  the  State."  I  said,  "I  will  follow  you  anywhere.  Moody, 
for  I  am  sure  if  you  go  into  this  it  will  be  all  right."  That  was  my 
first  convention.  I  had  never  been  in  a  Sunday-school  convention  in 
my  life  before.  As  I  sat  there  and  heard  things  entirely  new  to  me  I 
commenced  to  see  the  possibilities  of  such  an  organization.  A  few 
months  after  the  war  closed  we  took  hold  of  that  work,  and  what  a 
mighty  power  it  has  been,  shaking  this  State  from  end  Lo  end !  What 
an  impulse  it  has  given  to  men,  and  what  magnificent  men  it  has 
raised  up  and  educated  under  God!  Bishop  Vincent  received  his  first 
conception  of  the  magnitude  and  possibilities  of  this  work  in  Illinois; 
B.  F.  Jacobs  owes  what  he  was  to  the  education  in  this  same  line  of 
work  in  Illinois;  D.  L.  Moody  would  never  have  been  the  man  that  he 
became  ,  at  the  head  of  the  evangelistic  work  of.  the  world,  if  it  had  not 
been  for  his  training  in  conventions  and  meetings  of  this  kind  in  Illinois. 
I  could  mention  others  who  have  been  sent  to  other  fields  and  whom 
we  have  in  our  midst  to-day.  What  a  power  it  has  been  in  the  develop- 
ment of  character!  And  Illinois  has  not  kept  herself  within  herself; 
she  has  boiled  up  until  she  has  boiled  over.  All  over  this  great  country 
we  find  representatives  of  Illinois  in  the  front  rank  of  the  Sunday-school 
work.  Whenever  I  go  to  a  state  that  knows  little  about  this  work  and 
find  a  man  from  Illinois,  I  know  that  man  can  be  counted  on  almost 
always.  He  has  a  right  conception  of  the  work  and  is  ready  to  enter 
into  it  at  once. 

It  is  a  great  delight  to  meet  with  you  here  and  find  the  same  spirit 
and  energy  that  we  had  years  ago.  Some  of  our  states  have  gone  up  to 
a  high  altitude  and  fallen  .back ;  some  workers  have  moved  away  and 
they  are  not  in  the  position  they  were  some  years  ago,  but  not  so  in 
Illinois.  Men  may  come  and  men  may  go  in  this  State,  but  God's  work 
goes  on  forever,  and  it  is  greater  to-day  than  ever  in  the  history  of 
this  State. 

As  I  have  listened  to  the  report  of  Mr.  W.  B.  Jacobs  and  these 
faithful  workers  in  connection  with  him,  my  soul  goes  up  in  gratitude  to 
God  for  such  men.  The  work  has  not  retrograded,  but  occupies  a  larger 
and  more  aggressive  position  than  ever  before.  The  influence  of  Illinois 
throughout  this  land  is  and  has  been  most  helpful.  Mr,  Jacobs  and  I 
could  not  maintain  the  position  we  hold  in  the  International  work  in 
this  country  if  it  were  not  that  we  are  backed  by  Illinois.  If  there  was 
another  state  in  the  union  that  exceeded  in  efficacy  its  organization 
we  would  have  to  move  to  it  or  bring  Illinois  up  ahead  of  it.  When  we 


13 

talk  about  what  has  been  done  and  what  can  be  done,  we  point  with 
pride  to  Illinois  and  say,  "It  has  been  done,  brethren,  there  it  is,  look 
at  it,  read  its  history."  I  often  think  of  the  time  when  Gen.  Grant 
was  nominated  for  the  presidency  by  Gen.  Logan.  His  speech  was 
short  and  to  the  point.  Somebody  had  brought  in  a  bust  of  Gen.  Grant 
and  put  it  up  before  the  great  audience.  Logan  turned  to  it  and  said: 
"Fellow  citizens,  there  he  is,  match  him!"  So  we  can  put  Illinois  up 
and  say  to  the  country  and  to  the  world  "Match  her !"  We  are  grateful 
to  God  that  He  has  privileged  us  to  be  in  such  a  position  and  to  be  able 
to  extend  our  work  through  that  influence  all  over  this  land."  *  *  * 
All  over  this  land  we  are  emphasizing  three  things.  We  do  not 
want  any  more  machinery;  we  have  enough  machinery  and  as  perfect 
as  it  can  be  made,  I  believe,  but  we  want  to  emphasize  these  things 
we  are  now  presenting.  First,  ingathering.  We  are  determined  with 
God's  help  to  reach  every  family  in  the  United  States  and  Canada  with 
an  invitation  to  come  to  church  and  Sunday-school,  so  that  not  a  boy  or 
girl,  man  or  woman,  can  rise  up  in  America  and  say,  "I  lived  in  this 
countrv  but  no  one  cared  for  my  soul,  no  one  visited  me  or  invited  me  to 
come  to  church  or  Sabbath-school."  When  we  realize  that  in  the  last 
ten  years  the  Sunday  Schools  of  the  United  States  have  increased 
50  per  cent,  that  in  a  little  over  one  hundred  years  we  have  had 
in  this  country  alone  an  attendance  of  eleven  millions  where  there 
was  not  one  before,  think  of  the  God  we  have  to  rely  upon!  What 
is  it  to  reach  the  balance  of  eight  or  nine  millions  of  the  children 
of  this  country?  Child's  play  so  far  as  effort  is  concerned,  if  we 
will  go  to  work  and  distribute  our  forces,  take  up  the  work  syste- 
matically and  every  one  of  us  do  his  duty.  If  this  house-to-house 
visitation  is  planned  by  counties  and  townships,  how  long  will  it  take 
to  visit  every  family  in  the  State  of  Illinois  if  every  Christian  or  one- 
half  of  the  Christians  in  this  State  will  spend  two  hours  a  week  for" 
God  in  this  work?  Before  this  next  convention  comes,  you  can  see  that 
there  is  not  a  family  in  the  State  which  has  not  been  personally  visited' 
by  some  Christian  man  or  woman  and  invited  to  church  and  Sunday- 
school.  What  would  be  the  result?  God  only  knows.  He  says,  "Bring 
all  the  tithes  into  the  storehouse  and  prove  me  now  herewith  saith  the 
Lord."  Well,  Lord,  what  will  you  do?  "Bring  in  the  tithes;  what  do 
you  mean?  "Your  time,  your  money,  your  influence,  what  you  have, 
bring  it  in  and  show  me  you  are  in  earnest ;  take  hold  of  the  work  just 
as  you  do  your  business,  and  I  will  open  the  windows  of  heaven  and 
pour  you  out  such  a  blessing  there  will  not  be  room  enough  to  receive 
it."  There  would  not  be  room  enough  in  all  the  churches  and  school- 
liouses  in  the  State  of  Illinois  to  hold  the  crowds  that  would  come  to 
1-ear  His  word  preached  and  taught.  I  verily  believe  a  nation  could  be 
born  in  a  day,  and  I  believe  God  stands  ready  to  do  this  thing  when 
we  come  up  and  prove  to  Him  and  show  by  our  earnestness  that  our 
hearts  are  in  this  work.  Mr.  Wanamaker  said  to  me  some  time  ago, 
"We  are  fooling  with  this  thing  of  religion ;  let  us  go  to  work  and  take 
a  grip ;  let  us  show  God  we  are  in  earnest."  *  *  * 


14 

When  God  wanted  to  do  something  for  us  He  did  the  best  He 
could ;  when  He  wanted  to  make  a  present  to  the  world  He  did  not  look 
around  heaven  to  find  something  He  could  spare  as  well  as  not,  but 
"God  so  loved  the  world  that  Re  gave  His  only  begotten  Son."  He  sent 
the  brightest  jewel  in  all  heaven  as  His  present  to  a  lost  and  ruined 
world.  Shouldn't. we  then  give  Him  our  best  endeavors?  Somebody 
*aid  a  while  ago,  "You  have  given  up  your  business?"  "Yes  sir." 
"What  are  you  doing?"  "Engaged  in  another  kind  of  business  very 
extensively."  "What  is  it?"  "Going  over  this  country  making  dis- 
satisfaction." "That  is  a  new  thing  for  you!"  "Yes  sir."  <'Do  you 
like  it?"  "I  never  enjoyed  anything  so  much  in  my  life.  If  I  can 
get  people  dissatisfied  with  themselves  there  is  then  some  prospect  of 
their  doing  better ;  but  if  they  feel  they  are  doing  about  right  and  getting 
along  pretty  well  they  are  in  a  hopeless  condition.  I  was  at  a  con- 
vention in  New  Jersey  some  time  ago.  I  stated  that  my  object  in 
visiting  the  convention  was  to  create  some  dissatisfaction,  and  if  I  could 
keep  some  of  them  awake  that  night  I  should  feel  supremely  happy 
and  I  should  be  glad  to  hear  from  them  the  next  morning.  As  I  went  out 
two  ladies  were  in  front  of  me  and  one  said  to  the  other :  "I  feel 
thoroughly  dissatisfied  with  myself."  "Yes,'  said  the  other  one,  'So 
do  I  and  I  am  going  to  give  up  my  class.'  The  other  one  said,  'I  am 
not,  but  I  am  going  to  make  myself  a  better  teacher.'  I  went  up  and 
paid,  'Ladies,  thank  you,  I  feel  my  mission  is  not  in  vain  and  I  accom- 
plished my  purpose. !  'Oh  Mr.  Reynolds,'  one  replied,  "I  think  you 
have  accomplished  your  purpose  as  far  as  I  am  concerned.'  And  I 
said,  'You  are  not  going  to  give  up  your  class ;'  if  you  do  you  will  never 
have  a  bit  of  rest  until  you  take  it  up  again.  "No"  she  said,  'I  won't.' 
That  is  what  we  want.  We  must  make  them  feel  'I  am  doing  poor 
work  for  God  and  I  must  do  better  work'  ." 

I  have  in  my  Sunday-school  a  machine,  a  magnificent  machine  for 
the  manufacturing  of  teachers.  I  am  not  going  round  now  picking  up 
teachers  as  I  used  to  do.  I  was  in  a  Sunday-school  a  few  weeks  ago 
and  there  was  a  class  of  boys,  I  think  seven,  and  they  were  having  a 
great  time  trading  jack  knives,  sticking  pins  and  enjoying  various 
other  amusements  exhilarating  and  lively.  They  looked  like  boys  off 
the  street,  and  no  teacher!  The  teacher  they  had  was  an  "off  and  on" 
teacher.  The  superintendent  went  down  to  a  young  lady  and  said,  "I 
want  you  to  teach  that  class."  "I  do  not  know  anything  about  the 
lesson."  "Wont  you  go  over  to  them  and  keep  them  still?"  Think 
of  those  boys  with  immortal  souls,  one  hour  a  week  all  they  ever  get 
of  the  Gospel  of  the  Son  of  God,  coming  into  that  place  and  somebody 
implored  to  go  over  to  them  and  keep  them  still !  How  wonderful  is 
the  patience  and  long-suffering  of  God ! 

We  must  have  better  teachers.  In  my  own  school  we  have  a  society 
of  Christian  Endeavor.  I  went  in  there  and  looked  them  over.  I 
found  some  bright  intelligent  young  girls  and  young  men.  I  said  to 
them,  "Do  you  want  to  do  the  highest  and  grandest  and  noblest  work  >n 
the  world?  Would  you  like  to  do  what  Jesus  Christ  did  when  He  was 
in  this  world  ?"  "Yes  sir."  "I  will  put  you  where  you  oan  do  it.  The 


15 

greatest  work,  "I  said,  is  to  be  a  teacher,  and  the  greatest  thing  to  teach 
is  God's  word,  and  the  best  material  to  teach  children.  .Now  come  and 
give  me  your  names  and  subscribe  to  this  little  document  that  I  have 
here/'  a  promise  that  they  would  join  that  class  and  be  faithful  in  their 
attendance,  etc.,  and  seven  of  them  signed  that  document.  We  got  a  room 
and  fitted  it  up  in  the  Sunday-school  gallery.  I  went  to  a  young  man, 
a.  teacher  in  the  public  school,  formerly  a  pupil  in  my  school,  and  said, 
"Have  you  ever  received  any  benefit  from  the  school  I  am  superintendent 
of?"  "That  school  has  made  me  what  I  am,  sir;  I  there  learned  to 
love  Christ  and  in  it  I  received  the  religious  education  of  my  life." 
"Would  you  like  to  do  something  for  it  now  in  view  of  what  it  has  done 
for  you  ?"  "I  will  do  anything  in  the  world  for  it."  "Come  down  next 
Sunday  and  take  a  training  class  of  young  people  and  fit  and  qualify 
them  for  teachers."  Last  Sunday  I  was  at  home  and  I  found  eleven 
young  men  and  women  sitting  there  with  that  splendid  fellow  standing 
before  them  teaching  Prof.  Hamill's  Normal  lessons.  I  tell  you  I  am 
not  going  around  any  longer  picking  up  teachers  to  keep  boy?  still;  I 
am  going  to  have  a  first-class  lot  of  teachers;  no  person  is  to  graduate 
from  that  class  until  that  young  man  gives  them  a  certificate  that  they 
are  qualified  so  far  as  he  is  able  to  qualify  them  to  be  teachers.  Every 
one  of  you  can  do  this.  Put  Normal  classes  in  the  Sunday-schools  and 
have  a  training  class  for  teachers. 

Keep  up  your  organizations.  The  organization  is  the  house;  these 
other  the  goods  to  put_  into  the  house.  You  must  have  a  good  house 
with  a  good  roof,  in  order  that  you  have  these  articles  to  put  in  it  and 
make  them  useful.  We  want  these  township  conventions.  0  the  joy 
of  attending  township  conventions!  I  have  attended  these  larger  con- 
vetions,  but  the  joy  of  my  life  has  been  in  these  little  township  con- 
ventions where  we  get  one  ,two,  three  or  four  schools  together  and  get 
down  where  people  need  to  be  instructed  in  their  work.  Brethren, 
the  delight  of  this  work  is  that  you  are  able  to  help  somebody  else; 
what  a  luxury  it  is  to  help  somebody  to  a  higher  and  better  plane !  God 
has  given  us  this  wonderful  organization ;  God  is  with  this  organization 
in  a  marked  degree;  what  he  intends  to  do  with  it  He  only  knows, 
but  let  us  be  faithful  to  our  trust. 

John  V.  Farwell  said  in  substance:  The  Sabbath-school  work 
beginning  with  the  young,  instilling  into  them  the  Gospel  of  the  Son  of 
God,  has  much  to  do  with  the  future  history  of  this  Government.  Each 
one  of  us  here  in  this  audience  tonight  has  something  to  do  to  support 
the  Government  of  this  country,  that  one  day,  within  the  lives  of  some 
of  these  little  children  here  tonight,  will  have  over  two  hundred  millions 
of  people.  Now,  what  have  we  to  do  with  these  oncoming  millions? 
Why,  let  us  begin  right  at  home,  and  let  us  convey  the  Gospel  of  the  Son 
of  God  to  every  child's  heart  that  we  possibly  can  reach,  and  let  us  do 
it  in  the  fear  of  God,  with  the  hope  that  we  shall  be  instrumental  in  His 
Hands  of  building  up  an  influence  that  shall  convey  this  Government 
beyond  the  cavils  of  the  politicians,  and  set  it  up  upon  a  pinnacle  where 
the  nations  of  the  earth  shall  look  upon  it.  There  is  nothing  that  gives 
us  so  much  power  to  work  for  those  that  are  about  us,  and  those  that 


16 

are  dependent  upon  us,  as  to  have  the  soul  filled  with  the  Spirit  of  God, 
that  we  get  in  the  study  of  the  word.  And  as  Sunday-school  teachers, 
we  have  the  very  highest  motive  that  can  be  possibly  placed  before  any 
one  to  labor  in  this  work. 

I  remember  in  the  beginning  of  Mr.  Moody's  work  in  Chicago, 
that  there  were  very  many  wise  men  there,  and  some  of  them  told  him 
in  reference  to  his  Sabbath-school  work,  that  he  could  serve  God  a  good 
deal  better  by  keeping  still  ,and  keeping  his  mouth  shut,  than  he  could 
by  opening  it;  that  it  was  his  place  to  stay  in  his  own  little  church  and 
let  this  outside  mission  alone.  He  asked  God  about  it  as  well  as  his 
minister,  and  as  well  as  the  deacons  of  the  church  to  which  he  belonged. 
And  the  answer  from  the  Throne  of  God  was  to  go  down  among  the 
saloons  of  Chicago  and  gather  up  these  neglected  children  and  teach 
them  the  word  of  God.  Brother  Moody's  work  began  against  the  advice 
of  some  of  the  best  friends  of  the  church  of  Christ  in  Chicago.  Well, 
now,  what  has  God  wrought?  So  let  us,  each  one,  go  home  from  this 
Convention,  remembering  that  the  conventions  of  Illinois  began  in  the 
brain  of  Brother  Moody  and  Brother  Jacobs,  and  perhaps  two  or  three 
others,  and  they  have  persistently  kept  up  that  work  from  that  time 
until  this,  and  they  have  put  forth  every  effort  that  could  possibly  be 
brought  to  the  front  into  the  line  of  Christian  work,  and  they  have 
multiplied  these  influences  all  over  this  State.  Moody  gave  God  the 
right  of  way  through  his  heart,  his  plans,  and  his  life.  We  should  each 
do  the. same. 

THE  IMPOBTANCE  OF  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL. 

Daniel  Webster:  "If  we  work  upon  marble  it  will  perish; 
if  we  work  upon  brass,  time  will  efface  it;  If  we  rear  temples,  they 
crumble  into  dust,  -but  if  we  work  upon  Immortal  Souls;  if  we 
imbue  them  with  principles,  with  the  just  fear  of  God  and  the  love 
of  fellowmen,  we  engrave  on  those  everlasting  tablets  something 
which  will  brighten  all  eternity." 

President  Woodrow  Wilsons  "The  Sunday  School  Lesson 
of  to-day  becomes  the  code  of  morals  of  tomorrow.  Too  much 
attention  cannot  be  paid  to  the  work  of  the  Sunday  School." 

President  W.  H.  Taft:  "No  matter  what  views  are  taken  of 
general  education,  we  all  agree — Protestant,  Catholic,  and  Jew 
alike — that  Sunday  School  education  is  absolutely  necessary  to 
secure  moral  uplift  and  religious  spirit." 

Mr.  Marion  Lawrence:  "The  century  we  have  just  passed 
through,  the  greatest  century  of  all  the  world,  the  century  of  pro- 
gress, the  century  of  invention,  the  century  of  steam,  electricity  and 
philanthropy,  the  century  of  education  and  of  missions,  the  century 
of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  of  the  Bible  Societies,  of  the  Young  People's 
Societies  of  the  various  names,  and  the  Sunday  School,  and  the 
greatest  of  these  is  the  Sunday  School." 

Honorable  John  Bright:  "No  one  can  put  too  high  a  value 
on  the  voluntary  work  of  the  Sunday  School  teacher." 


•     17 

Honorable  John  Wannamaker:  "The  greatest  development 
of  the  nineteenth  century  is  the  Sunday  School.  I  may  have 
wasted  my  time  over  many  things  but  the  time  I  have  spent  in 
Sunday  School  work  has  certainly  not  been  wasted." 

Dr  John  Watson:  "The  greatest  agency  for  good  in  the 
American  nation,  as  I  see  it,  is  the  Sunday  School." 

Mr.  H.  J.  Heinz:  "The  Sunday  School  pays  the  biggest  divi- 
dends of  any  investment  of  time  or  money  I  have  over  made." 

President  of  Grant  University:  "The  Sunday  School  teachers 
are  the  makers  of  America." 

Prof.  Palmer  of  Harvard:  "What  constitutes  the  teacher  is 
the  passion  to  make  scholars." 

Chaplin  Dr.  Jesse  S.  Dancy,  in  France,  formerly  M  E.  De- 
nominational Representative  on  our  Association  and  Chairman  of 
our  Business  Committee:  "With  all  respect  to  the  fiDe  work  of 
the  Eed  Cross,  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  of  similiar  organizations, 
let  me  say  solemnly  that  none  of  them  offer  the  opportunity  to  serve 
one's  country  that  the  Sunday  School  offers.  You  can  train  a 
soldier  to  fight  in  a  year  but  it  takes  all  his  preceding  life  to  train 
him  morally  and  spiritually  to  the  sort  of  a  manhood  that  makes 
the  sort  of  a  soldier  upon  which  his  superiors  and  his  country  can 
safely  rely." 

THE  OLD  GUAED. 

The  Old  Guard  of  the  Illinois  Sunday  School  Association  were  men 
of  nerve,  conviction  and  consecration.  When  a  duty  was  assigned  to 
them,  they  had  but  one  reply:  "This  one  thing  I  do."  They  had 
unflinching  courage,  not  the  courage  of  dress  parade!  No  discourage- 
ments were  great  enough  to  keep  William  Eeynolds  from  laughing  in 
their  teeth ;  or  of  B.  F.  Jacobs  finding  a  way  or  making  it,  after  opening 
the  door  of  the'  church  where  his  meeting  was  to  be  held,  then  going  up 
and  down  the  streets  of  an  Illinois  village  ringing  a  bell  to  get  an  audi- 
ence ;  or  the  stubborn  purpose  of  D.  L.  Moody  and  other  members  of  this 
Immortal  Band  in  laying  the  foundation  of  our  Sunday  School  work 
with  a  faith  that  was  equal  to  every  emergency,  then  I  am  sure  the 
Young  Guard  can  learn  a  Lesson  from  these  Past  Masters  of  heroism 
and  unconquered  zeal.  These  men  and  their  associates  may  not  have  had 
the  fine  scholarship  of  some  of  our  present  day  workers,  but  they  had 
an  experience,  a  vision,  a  faith,  and  a  wisdom  from  God  which  only 
comes  from  a  personal  struggle  with  the  elemental  things  of  life.  They 
knew  the  weak  and  the  strong  points  of  the  men  and  women  of  that 
day.  The  women  gladly  shared  the  severe  trial  of  the  men,  "And  to 
their  glorious  nature  true,  did  all  that  angels  could  be  asked  to  do." 
They  doubled  their  joys  and  divided  their  sorrows.  God's  lamp  of  faith 
once  lighted  was  never  allowed  to  go  out,  even  in  the  humblest  cabin. 
They  made  no  compromise  with  evil.  Their  strong  hands,  brave  hearts 
and  indomitable  wills  have  laid  the  foundation  deep,  broad,  and  strong 
of  the  first  century  of  Illinois'  greatness — true  and  real  greatness  in  all 
— 2  S  S  H 


18 

the  essential  elements  necessary  to  perpetuate  their  matchless  work 
unstained  and  eternal  as  the  throne  of  God. 

STEPHEN  PAXSON,  the  John  the  Baptist  of  the  Illinois  Sunday 
School  Association,  was  born  in  New  Libson,  Ohio,  in  1808.  In  1838 
he  moved  with  his  family  to  Winchester,  Illinois.  It  was  here  that  his 
faithful  daughter  lifted  her  father  out  of  his  wasted  life  and  he  gave  his 
heart  to  God  and  she  taught  him  to  read,  when  he  had  almost  reached 
the  meridian  of  life.  She  inspired  him  to  become  a  pioneer  of  righteous- 
ness, not  only  in  Illinois,  but  in  the  mighty  West.  He  dedicated  his  life 
to  the  Sunday  School  in  behalf  of  the  children  and  youth  of  our  country. 
He  died  April  24,  1881,  loved  and  honored  not  only  in  Illinois,  but  by 
thousands  in  other  states.  A  suitable  monument  rests  above  his  sleep- 
ing dust  in  St.  Louis  overlooking  the  Father  of  Waters,  a  fit  symbol  of 
the  life  and  memory  of  the  great  man,  which  will  continue  to  charm  and 
brighten  the  hearts  and  lives  of  succeeding  generations.  His  death 
was  a  great  loss  to  the  Sunday  School  workers  of  Illinois.  Rev.  Charles 
M.  Morton  said  on  one  occasion :  "It  is  reported  that  at  the  funeral  of 
Daniel  Webster  when  all  were  taking  their  last  look  one  old  man  came 
and  looked  and  said  'Daniel  Webster,  the  world  will  be  lonely  without 
you/  so  I  feel  that  I  express  the  feeling  of  the  church  and  Sunday 
School  workers  when  I  say :  "Father  Paxson  we  are  all  lonely  without 
you  tonight." 

He  was  a  manly  man.  The  greatest  sight  in  this  world  is  a-  manly, 
Christian  man.  No  one  knew  of  Father  Paxon's  doing  an  unmanly 
thing.  If  true  to  anything  in  his  life,  he  was  true  to  his  Christian  man- 
hood. The  blessing  of  God  rested  upon  every  member  of  his  family. 
He  had  an  intense  hatred  for  sham.  The  hypocrite  did  not  find  his 
companionship  comfortable.  Another  great  characteristic  was  his  loyalty 
to  the  Son  of  God.  He  did  not  worship  the  work,  but  realized  for 
fcvhom  he  was  working.  When  asked  by  his  son  on  his  death  bed: 
"Father  how  is  it  with  you,"  the  old  man  looked  up  and  said :  "Ah  my 
son,  that  question  was  settled  long  ago."  He  was  full  of  common  sense. 
He  looked  at  everything  through  common  sense  eyes.  He  was  the  per- 
sonification of  kindness.  It  is  said  of  a  lady  going  along  the  street  of 
a  city  one  day,  right  ahead  of  her  she  saw  a  boy  standing  against  a  house 
putting  his  bare  feet  under  his  pants.  As  she  came  along  she  put  her 
hands  upon  his  head  and  said  in  a  kind  way  "Are  you  not  cold,  my  boy  ?" 
"I  was  ma'm  until  you  spoke;"  so  many  people  were  cold,  many  were 
sad  and  discouraged,  and  many  were  lonely  until  the  old  man  spoke. 
Mr.  Morton  further- said:  "I  do  not  believe  there  is  a  man  in  Illinois 
who  has  helped  more  to  minister  to  and  lift  the  loads  off  the  hearts 
of  Sabbath  School  Superintendents  than  he.  Several  times  I  have  felt 
cold  until  I  heard  him  speak.  His  memory  will  be  like  a  golden  chord 
of  love  let  down  from  the  Throne  of  God,  drawing  us  nearer  and  nearer 
to  heaven." 

He  was  an  extraordinary  man.  His  life  was  one  of  the  greatest 
successes  ever  achieved  in  this  country.  His  real  monument  will  be 
in  the  hearts  of  those  who  knew  and  loved  him.  Let  us  emulate  his 
example.  He  was  a  consecrated  man  of  God.  Let  us  consecrate  our- 


15) 

selves  to  God  and  follow  him  as  he  followed  our  Saviour.  May  the  Lord 
bless  this  man's  life  to  every  one  of  us.  Many  thank  the  Lord  first  that 
they  ever  knew  that  man,  that  his  influence  upon  them  brought  comfort 
and  peace  to  each  heart.  Let  us  thank  God  that  He  gave  to  Illinois 
Stephen  Paxson.  God  bless  us  and  help  us  so  that  when  we  die  some 
one  may  stand  over  our  graves  and  thank  God  that  we  ever  lived. 

He  was  the  man  that  touched  the  life  of  William  Reynolds  of  Peoria 
and  gave  him  a  new  vision  of  things  really  worth  while  in  this  life,  and 
it  was  through  his  influence  largely  that  Mr.  Eeynolds  left  his  business 
and  became  the  great  messenger  for  God  in  the  establishing  of  the  pro- 
paganda of  the  Sunday  School  cause  of  Illinois  and  of  the  World.  Mr. 
Eeynolds  said:  "This  State  owes  more  to  Stephen  Paxon  than  to  any 
other  for  its  Sunday  School  organization.  He  was  the  first  man  that 
ever  organized  a  County  Convention  in  the  State  of  Illinois,  and  he 
never  rested  nor  left  the  State  until  it  was  organized  from  one  end  to  the 
other.  He  organized  1,500  Sabbath  Schools  and  enrolled  71,000  children. 
Who  can  measure  the  influence  that  those  Sabbath  Schools  have  exerted 
in  this  State  and  in  the  world?  Many  churches  have  been  the  out- 
growth of  those  Sunday  Schools  which  would  never  have  been  started 
had  it  not  been  for  Paxson.  Thousands  have  been  brought  to  a  saving 
knowledge  of  Christ  by  this  one  servant  of  the  Living  God  and  the  in- 
fluence that  he  set  in  motion  in  the  work  he  did  for  humanity  will 
continue- to  widen  and  deepen  as  the  years  come  and  go." 

Herbert  Post,  the  Association's  first  General  Secretary,  said  that 
Stephen  Paxson  met  with  much  opposition,  especially  in  what  was  known 
as  Egypt.  In  one  place  he  applied  to  the  school  trustees,  asking  if  he 
might  not  hold  a  Sunday  School  there  on  Sunday.  He  was  refused, 
the  trustees  saying  they  did  not  want  any  "new-fangled  notions  like 
that."  Mr.  Paxon  said :  "You  will  let  us  gather  the  children  there 
and  sing  with  them,  wont  you?"  "Why  yes;  we  do  not  object."  "Well, 
after  singing  a  while  suppose  we  read  to  the  children  out  of  the  Bible? 
We  can  do  that  can't  we  ?  "Why,  yes"  was  the  reply.  Said  Mr.  Paxson : 
"That  is  what  the  Sunday  School  is."  "Oh,  well,  if  that  is  all,  go  ahead 
and  we  will  help  you." 

Mr.  B.  F.  Jacobs  said:  "There  were  three  things  that  character- 
ized Brother  Stephen  Paxson:  First,  his  belief  in  the  Word  of  God, 
and  that  Word  in  its  fullness.  Second,  his  belief  and  rest  in  the 
finished  work  of  Christ  our  Lord,  and  Third,  the  indwelling  power  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  Stephen  Paxson  believed  the  word  of  God.  That 
Bible  to  him  was  the  revelation  of  God  to  man.  I  have  often  been  with 
him  and  heard  him  read  and  saw  the  rich  joy  showing  in  his  face  as  he 
feasted  upon  it.  He  believed  and  God  counted  it  to  him  for  righteous- 
ness. Stephen  Paxson  dwelt  in  the  presence  of  the  Living  and  Seeing 
One.  He  was  guided  by  the  Eye  of  God.  What  we  shall  say  of  Stephen 
Paxson's  reward  is  not  in  language  to  portray,  none  but  the  heart  of 
Christ  himself  can  describe  it." 

JOHN"  M.  PECK  was  born  in  Litchfield,  Conn,  in  1789 ;  in  1811 
he  united  with  the  Baptist  Church;  in  1813  he  was  ordained  to  the 
Baptist  ministry,  and  in  1817  he  was  appointed  a  missionary  with  head- 


20 

quarters  in  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  and  early  in  July,  1817,  he  started  for  his 
field  of  labor  with  his  wife  and  three  children  in  a  one  horse  wagon, 
reached  Shawneetown,  111.,  in  November,  and  later  went  to  St.  Louis, 
Mo.,  and  afterwards  removed  to  Eock  Springs,  111.,  near  Alton,  and 
resided  there  till  his  death  in  1857.  When  the  American  Sunday  School 
Union  was  formed  in  1824,  Dr.  Peck  put  himself  immediately  in  touch 
with  it  and  in  order  to  acquaint  this  organization  with  the  middle  west 
he  reported  concerning  the  work  he  had  done  in  this  pioneer  State  and 
its  needs.  Later  he  founded  the  Eock  Springs  Seminary  for  general 
and  theological  education.  In  1832  this  and  a  Seminary  at  Upper  Alton 
united  and  in  1835  it  became  known  as  Shurtleff  College.  He  was  a  man 
of  strong  personality  and  keen  mind ;  he  devoted  his  life  to  missions  and 
the  earnest  organization  and  vigorous  support  of  Sunday  Schools.  He 
kept  a  diary  and  his  first  mention  of  Sunday  Schools  was  in  1823 : 
"Lord's  Day,  September  28 — In  the  evening  preached  in  Thomas  Carlin's 
house  (Carlin  was  Governor  of  Illinois  from  1838  to  1842)  from  the 
Parable  of  the  Sower.  The  people  are  attentive  and  solemn." 

The  next  Sunday  he  writes :  "The  Sunday  School  met  at.  the  house 
and  recited  Scripture  lessons.  I  then  preached  from  Phil.  1 :21. 
Eeligion  now  flourishes  in  this  settlement." 

"October  22 — I  met  the  managers  of  the  Bible  Society  of  Green 
County.  On  the  night  of  the  24th,  I  plead  the  Bible  cause  before 
a  respectable  assembly  in  Alton,  and  the  next  day  (25)  attended  the 
proposed  meeting  in  Edwardsville.  By  a  little  seasonable  and  prudent 
effort  the  Testament  may  become  a  class-book  in  the  day-schools  of  this 
country.  On  the  way  to  this  place  I  succeeded  in  getting  it  introduced 
into  five  schools." 

In  April  and  May  of  1824  Mr.  Peck  makes  a  note  that  he.  worked 
in  the  central,  southern,  and  Military  Tract  of  the  State  in  behalf  of 
Sunday  Schools  and  the  Bible  Society. 

At  Kaskaskia,  he  formed  a  Bible  Society  of  twenty  members  under 
circumstances  of  hopefulness,  a  pious  Quakeress  being  made  President. 

In  June  of  1824  he  read  in  the  newspapers  of  the  formation  of 
the  American  Sunday  School  Union  at  Philadelphia,  and  he  immedi- 
ately entered  into  correspondence  with  the  officers,  giving  the  facts  he 
had  gathered  in  the  vast  region  over  which  he  had  traveled.  From  that 
time  we  find  him  closely  identified  with  the  interests  of  this  great 
organization. 

His  Bible  and  Sunday  School  labors  brought  him  into  contact  with 
Christians  of  all  religious  denominations  then  in  Illinois.  Speaking 
of  a  Methodist  family  that  entertained  him,  he  says,  "I  was  received  as 
kindly  as  I  could  have  been  in  any  Baptist  family.  Experience  has 
taught  me  that  it  is  a  wretched  policy  for  the  sects  in  religion  to  oppose 
each  other." 

As  he  traveled  up  and  down  and  across  the  State,  he  presented  the 
Bible  Society  work,  and  the  Sunday  School  and  Temperance  -causes  to 
congregations  of  all  denominations,  and  at  the  same  time  he  was  busy 
with  tongue  and  pen  arousing  public  sentiment  against  the  evil  of 
human  slavery.  No  other  man,  except  it  was  Gov.  Coles,  say  the  best 


21 

authorities  on  State  history,  exerted  a  greater  influence  in  making 
Illinois  a  free  state  than  John  M.  Peck. 

In  his  diary  of  1825,  he  writes  j  "From  various  quarters  I  learn 
that  the  Sunday  School  cause  prospers. 

The  State  Legislature  at  Vandalia  in  the  winter  of  1825-6  was  in 
session  and  he  made  an  address  to  that  body  in  behalf  of  the  Bible  and 
Sunday  School  work,  and  won  over  to  these  interests  a  number  of  promi- 
nent men  of  the  State.  While  there,  the  matter  of  dissolving  an  agri- 
cultural society  came  before  the  Legislature  for  action.  He  was  en- 
couraged to  make  an  effort  to  secure  for  the  Sunday  School  work  a 
surplus  belonging  to  this  organization.  By  a  little  effort  upon  his  part 
the  sum  of  $260.00  was  secured  to  promote  Sunday  School  interests  in 
the  State  of  Illinois.  This  seems  to  be  the  only  instance  of  a  Legis- 
lature's appropriating  money  for  Sunday  Schools. 

In  February  1826,  Mr.  Peck  was  appointed  by  the  American  Sunday 
School  Union  agent  to  solicit  funds  in  New  York,  Boston  and  other 
eastern  cities.  This  work  took  nine  months  of  his  time. 

In  Washington  he  made  addresses  in  the  churches,  spoke  in  Colum- 
bia College,  was  received  by  President  Adams,  and  met  many  of  the 
prominent  men  of  the  Nation.  In  Philadelphia,  he  dined  with  a  body  of 
Presbyterian  ministers  at  the  home  of  Alexander  Henry,  President  of 
the  American  Sunday  School  Union. 

Dr.  Henry  took  an  active  part  in  the  International  Sunday  School 
Association  and  had  charge  of  his  church  Sunday  School  publications 
for  many  years. 

In  all  of  the  large  cities  visited,  Mr.  Peck  attended  the  best  Sunday 
Schools  he  could  find  to  observe  the  methods  pursued  in  instruction  and 
in  organization.  He  speaks  of  one  school  in  New  York  as:  "Probably 
the  best  conducted  Sunday  School  in  the  world." 

The  following  items  from  his  diary  made  seven  years  later: 
"December  3,  1833,  Reached  Vandalia,  and  at  night  attended  the 
annual  meeting 'of  the  Illinois  State  Bible  Society." 

December  4.  "Most  of  the  day  was  employed  in  finishing  my  re- 
port of  the  Illinois  Sunday  School  Union.  On  the  evening  the  anni- 
versary was  held  in  the  State  house.  A  large  assembly  was  present,  and 
much  interest  excited.  The  Sunday  School  cause  has  obtained  a  strong 
hold  upon  the  affections  and  confidence  of  the  people.  With  prudent 
and  energetic  management  it  must  succeed." 

December  5.  "Very  busy  through  the  day  in  settling  and  arrang- 
ing business  with  the  Sunday  School  agents  present,  and  attending 
meetings  of  the  Board,  committees,  etc." 

December  8.  "Lord's  Day.  In  the  morning  attended  the  Sunday 
School  and  addressed  it  on  the  subject  of  Temperance." 

December  12.  "Went  to  St.  Louis,  chiefly  on  Sunday  School  busi- 
ness." 

December  14.  "Saturday,  very  busy  preparing  the  Sunday  School 
report  for  the  press." 

December  22.  "Preached  the  funeral  sermon  for  the  late  Governor 
Edwards  in  the  Court-house  at  Edwardsville.  Not  only  was  the  house 


22 

crowded,  but  a  multitude  were  out  of  doors,  the  weather  being  pleasant. 
The  next  day  a  call  was  made  for  the  publication  of  the  sermon  with 
a  short  memoir  of  the  Governor's  life  and  character  which  will  be  com- 
plied with." 

PETER  CARTWRIGHT  was  born  in  Va.,  September  1,  1785  and 
died  .at  Pleasant  Plains  Sept.  25,  1872.  He  was  the  great  pioneer  of 
Methodism.  In  his  biography  of  over  500  pages,  written  in  1857  and 
covering  a  period  of  thirty  years  or  more  in  Illinois,  the  name  Sunday 
School  appears  only  once,  a  friend  writes  me  who  made  the  investigation. 
That  Mr  Cartwright  favored  Sunday  Schools  is  indicated  in  the  state- 
ment in  which  he  uses  the  words  "Sunday  School"  to  tell  the  reader 
that  he  had  been  a  contributor  of  cash  to  the  "American  Sunday  School 
Union." 

.  He  was  one  of  those  "rough  and  ready"  characters  that  so  often 
are  found  in  the  early  settlement  of  the  different  parts  of  our  State. 
His  acquaintance  with  the  early  settlers  of  our  State  was  very  extensive 
and  his  strong  traits  of  character  gripped  his  friends  with  meshes  of 
steel  and  made  his  influence  very  great.  He  was  on  intimate  terms  with 
many  of  the  influential  men  of  his  day  and  he  left  an  impression  on  his 
age  of  remarkable  power.  He  had  many  characteristics  that  resembled 
those  of  President  Abraham  Lincoln. 

JACOB  F.  BERGEN",  son  of  Abraham  and  Hannah  Fisher  Bergen, 
was  born  near  Cranberry,  Xew  Jersey,  May  27,  1802.  He  died  at 
Virginia,  Cass  County,  Illinois,  December  23,  1887. 

In  1828  he  came  to  Illinois  in  company  with  Rev.  J.  G.  Bergen, 
having  made  the  long  journey  by  cart  and  on  horseback.  He  located  at 
Old  Princeton,  Cass  County.  It  is  said  that  from  a  Sunday  School  in 
which  he  was  interested,  located  in  an  out  of  the  way  place  where  there 
was  no  other  religious  influence,  seven  young  men  entered  the  ministry. 

He  frequently  gave  days  to  trips  through  the  country,  even  into 
other  counties,  often  in  company  with  Father  Adams  and  later  with 
Father  Paxson,  organizing  and  assisting  Sunday  Schools.  When  the 
latter  accompanied  him  on  these  journeys  he  generally  left  his  horse, 
"Robert  Raikes",  at  the  Bergen  homestead  where  both  the  horse  and  his 
master  were  great  favorites  of  the  Bergen  children.  While  interested  in 
the  Providence  Presbyterian  Church,  of  which  he  was  an  Elder,  he  and 
his  good  wife  often  denied  themselves  the  privileges  of  the  Sunday 
service  to  go  out  into  the  country  to  encourage  and  help  needy  schools. 

During  a  period  of  nearly  sixty  years  in.  Central  Illinois,  he  was  on 
the  Sunday  School  job,  and  present  every  Sunday  unless  physically 
unable  to  attend.  There  are  many  living  in  this  State  who  testify  con- 
cerning his  valuable  services  to  the  cause  when  such  layman  as  he  were 
scarce.  Such  men  by  placing  "first  things  first"  made  a  lasting  impress 
on  the  young  life  of  the  community  in  which  they  lived  that  is  felt  even 
to-day.  They  lived  to  a  noble  purpose  and  are  held  in  grateful  re- 
membrance to-day  as  the  living  embodiment  of  the  Christ-life. 

DR.  EDWARD  EGGLESTON  was  born  in  Indiana  in  1837,  or- 
dained in  the  ministry  in  the  Methodist  Church  in  1857,  and  was  in 
pastorates  for  about  ten  years.  He  was  the  editor  of  the  Little  Corporal, 


23 

a  juvenile  paper  in  I860  and  1867,  at  Chicago,  and  editor  of  the 
National  Sunday  School  Teacher  in  Chicago  from  1867  to  1870 ;  literary 
editor  of  the  Independent,  New  York,  from  1870  to  1872;  editor  of 
the  Hearth  and  Home,  New  York,  from  1871  to  1872.  He  was  the 
-author  of  several  popular  works  of  fiction.  Some  of  you  will  remember 
him  as  the  author  of  "The  Hoosier  School  master,"  "The  End  of  the 
World/'  "The  Circuit  Eider"  and  other  stories.  In  1869  he  edited  two 
small  volumes  entitled  Sunday  School  Conventions  and  Institutes  with 
suggestions  on  County  and  Township  organizations,  and  later  a  manual 
or  practical  guide  to  Sunday  Schools.  He  was  a  fluent  speaker,  with 
a  strong  and  pleasant  personality,  and  was  recognized  as  a  leader  and 
competent  teacher  of  teachers.  His  lesson  expositions  and  practical 
hints  in  the  National  Sunday  School  Teacher  won  him  great  favor.. 
His  fame  as  a  "Sunday  School  man"  vied  with  his  fame  as  an  author. 
He  said  that  he  "trained"  with  Jacobs,  Moody,  Gillett,  Morton  and 
Reynolds.  In  1869  he  was  chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee  of 
the  Illinois  Sunday  School  Association.  At  the  Newark  convention  in 
closing  his  address  he  said:  "Go  home  better  men,  wiser  men,  fuller- 
men,  crazier  men  in  the  Sunday  School  work."  In  the  National  Sunday 
•School  convention  in  1872  he  stood  almost  alone  in  opposing  the  uni- 
form lesson  plan  and  contesting  heroically  the  popular  tide.  He  made 
a  large  contribution  to  Sunday  School  effectiveness  and  gave  many 
young  people  a  new  incentive  and  a  greater  vision  of  life.  Although 
opposed  to  the  International  Sunday  School  Lesson  System,  yet  he  did 
a  large  part  towards  its  success  by  advocating  it  through  his  Sunday 
School  Teacher. 

JAMES  McKEE  PEEPLES,  President  of  the  State  Conventiotf 
at  Galesburg,  1871,  heard  the  call  of  the  Master  in  1880.  The  whole 
southern  part  of  the  State  felt  his  loss  keenly.  His  personal  work 
and  liberal  contributions,  as  well  as  his  valuable  experience,  have  been 
of  great  service  to  the  cause  of  Christ  in  his  own  county,  his  District, 
and  State.  He  was  a  member  for  many  years  of  the  State  Executive 
•Committee. 

He  was  associated  with  Thomas  Ridgeway  in  the  southern  part 
of  the  State.  When  William  Reynolds  was  asked  to  go  and  organize 
the  southern  part  of  the  State,  he  asked  who  there  was  to  take  hold  of 
the  wqrk  and  go  along  with  him  to  introduce  him.  He  was  told  that 
there  were  two  men  living  in  Washington  County,  leaders  in  the  Pres- 
byterian Church,  J.  McK.ee  Peeples  and  Thomas  Ridgeway.  Mr. 
Reynolds  said  "I  wrote  to  Mr.  Peeples,  having  forgotten  Mr.  Ridgeway's 
name.  I  finally  got  an  answer  from  him  asking  me  what  I  wanted. 
I  told  him  that  I  wanted  him  to  come  to  the  convention  at  Bloomington. 
He  answered,  "I  will  be  there,  God  willing."  We  had  a  great  con- 
vention. A  tabernacle  was  built  and  Mr.  Moody  was  present.  A  gentle- 
man came  to  me  at  the  close  of  the  morning  session,  and  said,  "My  name 
is  McK.ee  Peeples.  You  have  requested  that  I  should  be  present  at 
this  meeting."  I  said  "Yes,  sir,  I  am  very  much  obliged."  He  said: 
"What  do  you  want  me  to  do."  I  replied,  "I  will  be  much  obliged,  Mr. 
McKee  Peeples,  if  you  will  take  a  seat  here  every  day."  He  replied,  "1 


24 

will  do  it,  sir."  Sometimes  he  would  take  up  a  paper  and  read,  and  then 
he  would  lay  aside  his  paper  and  listen.  The  second  day  he  did  not 
bring  his  paper.  The  third  day  he  took  a  seat  next  to  the  front.  Mr. 
Moody  asked  me  who  that  man  was  sitting  down  there.  I  said,  "He  is 
a  man  under  my  spiritual  care.  I  want  you  to  watch  him  with  great 
care  and  say  anything  you  can  to  wake  him  up.  They  need  to  be 
aroused  where  he  lives,  and  I  want  to  get  him  interested."  He  replied, 
.  "I  think  that  he  is  interested."  The  result  was,  at  the  close  of  the 
session  he  came  to  me  and  said:  "Keynolds,  what  can  be  done  for 
Southern  Illinois?"  I  replied,  "You  are  a  business  man,  Mr  Peeples, 
and  I  am  a  business- man.  Let  us  go  through  the  State  and  canvass  it 
for  Christ."  He  replied,"  "We  will  do  it,  "Come  down."  We  went  down 
there,  and  I  shall  never  cease  to  thank  God  for  the  privilege  I  had  of 
laboring  there  with  Peeples,  Ridgeway,  Hunter,  and  others. 

PHILIP  G.  GILLETT,  L.  L.  D.,  for  thirty-seven  years  Superin- 
tendent of  the  Illinois  State  Institution  for  the  Deaf  and  Dumb  at 
Jacksonville,  was  twice  President  of  the  Illinois  Sunday  School  Asso- 
ciation, once  at  Rockford  in  1866,  and  again  at  Quincy  in  1870.  He 
died  at  Jacksonville,  October  2,  1901.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Ex- 
ecutive Committee  for  many  years. 

At  the  great  National  Convention  held  in  Indianapolis  in  1872, 
Illinois  presented  Dr.  Gillett  as  their  candidate  for  President  to  succeed 
•George  H.  Stuart,  of  Philadelphia,  the  most  eloquent  orator,  and  one  of 
the  most  finished  presiding  officers  of  the  Sunday  School  arena  of  the 
Nation.  As  President  Gillett  ascended  the  platform  to  take  the  place 
of  his  predecessor,  standing  by  his  side,  he  was  easily  recognized  as  the 
peer  of  the  noblest  in  that  brilliant  assembly.  The  Indianapolis  Con- 
vention was  the  beginning  of  a  new  era  in  our  Sunday  School  history. 
To  it,  and  largely  to  his  wise  ruling  and  skillful  handling  during  pro- 
tracted debates,  led  by  Vincent,  Eggleston,  Jacobs  and  others,  when  it 
seemed,  at  times,  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  harmonize  the  different 
views  by  those  who  were  giants  and  positive  in  their  convictions,  are 
the  Nation  and  World  largely  indebted  for  the  International  Lesson 
system,  which  has  to  so  large  a-  degree  unified  the  Sunday  School  teach- 
ing of  the  world,  and  made  possible  the  Sunday  Schools  of  to-day. 

Through  the  counties  of  this  State,  he  went  from  convention  to 
convention  with  his  earnestness,  his  eloquence,  and  his  deep,  religious 
spirit,  inherited  from  his  father,  a  faithful  Methodist  minister,  and 
his  godly  mother,  cheering  the  discouraged,  and  inspiring  all  with  some 
of  his  own  zeal  and  enthusiasm,  and  contributing  largely  to  the  elevation 
of  Illinois  to  its  present  exalted  position  in  our  Sunday  School  army. 

It  was  fitting  that  President  Gillett  should  be  chosen  as  a  member 
of  the  first  International  Lesson  Committee.  He  was  also  for  several 
years  a  valued  member  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  our  Association. 

Near  the  close  of  the  first  International  Sunday  School  Convention 
in  1875,  he  said:  "Brethren  and  Sisters — sink  or  swim,  live  or  die,  I 
give  myself  to  this  Sunday-school  work.  They  tell  me  that  I  have 
Sunday-school  on  the  brain.  I  said  one  day  to  the  man  that  told  me 
that,  you  remind  me  of  a  great  minister  who  became  somewhat  deranged 


25 

and  was  shut  in  prison.  A  parishioner  looked  through  the  grating  and 
said  to  him  "  what  brought  you  here  ?"  "Brains,  sir !  brains !  what  will 
never  bring  you  here !"  Young  America  and  old  fogyism  are  not  always 
to  be  measured  by  years.  Father  Paxson  does  more  work  to-day  than 
many  a  young  man  who  thinks  himself  a  mighty  man." 

JOHN  H.  VINCENT  was  born  in  Tuscaloosa,  Alabama,  February 
23,  1832.  In  his  childhood  the  family  removed  to  Lewisburg,  Pa.  and 
later  to  Milton,  Pa.  He  studied  in  the  Wesleyan  Institute  at  Newark 
New  Jersey,  but  was  unable  to  obtain  the  higher  training  of  the  college, 
a  fact  strongly  influencing  him  in  the  efforts  later  in  life  for  the  pro- 
motion of  popular  education.  He  carried  his  studies  alone  through  the 
college  course  and  was  examined  in  1875  and  received  the  honorary  degree 
of  B.  A.  from  Mt.  Union  College,  Ohio.  In  1870  he  was  given  a  degree  of 
L.  T.  D.  by  Ohio  Wesleyan,  also  Harvard  in  1896,  and  that  of  L.  L.  D. 
by  Washington  and  Jefferson  College  in  1885.  He  began  preaching  at  the 
age  of  eighteen. 

In  1857  he  was  transferred  to  Eock  Eiver  Conference  in  Northern 
Illinois.  He  organized  for  his  young  people  for  the  purpose  of  studying 
bible  history  and  geography,  a  class  known  as  "The  Palestine  Class," 
which  was  afterwards  published  in  1888.  He  marked  out  a  map  of 
Palestine  on  the  church  lawn  and  led  his  students  on  pilgrimages  from 
place  to  place  and  taught  events  in  connection  with  the  localities. 

He  had  charges  in  Mount  Morris  in  1859,  and  Galena  in  1860 — 61 
and  in  1862  was  transferred  to  Eockford  and  then  to  Trinity  Church  in 
Chicago,  in  1865,  and  here  he  met  B.  F.  Jacobs  and  other  leaders  who 
found  an  able  associate  in  the  young  pastor  of  the  Trinity  Church  In 
1865  he  was  called  to  New  York  to  become  the  General  Agent  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Sunday  School  Union.  He  established  the  Sunday 
School  Journal  for  teachers  in  the  fall  of  1888. 

Between  1870  and  1873  he  was  one  of  the  leaders  in  the  movement 
for  the  International  Uniform  Lessons  which  became  effective  over  the 
American  Continent  in  1872,  and  he  went  to  England  about  this  time 
and  was  very  influential  in  bringing  the  Sunday  Schools  of  Great  Britain 
into  line  with  the  Uniform  Lessons. 

Dr.  Hazard  said  in  substance:  In  1860  John  H.  Vincent,  an 
Illinois  Sunday-school  man,  who  had  a  brain  of  his  own  and  thoughts 
of  his  own,  thinking  far  ahead  of  his  time,  began  to  think  of  some  sort 
of  training  class,  and  in  1864,  or  a  little  before,  he  was  trying  to  introduce 
Sunday-school  institutes.  In  1865,  near  the  close  of  the  year,  he  started 
in  Chicago,  what  afterwards  became  the  National  Sunday  school  Teacher, 
but  then  was  the  Sunday  School  Quarterly.  In  that  quarterly  he  outlined 
a  lesson  course  that  was  called  "Two  Years  With  Jesus." 

Looking  through  those  first  lesson  papers  that  appeared  in  that 
quarterly,  you  find  many  things  we  have  to-day.  For  a  beginning  they 
were  wonderfully  perfect,  and  there  is  not  a  lesson  paper  issued  but  what, 
in  some  respect  at  least,  copies  the  very  first  one  that  was  issued. 

Dr.  Hamill  said :  "Shoulder  to  shoulder  with  Paxson  was  another 
stalwart  figure  in  Illinois  for  many  years,  who  passed  from  us  into  other 
positions,  but  the  fragrance  of  whose  memory  yet  abides,  the  man  whom 


26 

I  esteem  the  greatest  of  our  teachers  and  who  yet  lives  to  wear  the  laurel 
of  unfading  renown.  I  speak  the  name  of  John  H.  Vincent  with  peculiar 
respect.  God  made  him  an  inventor  of  Sunday  School  things.  It  was 
the  work  of  Paxson  to  lay  the  foundation ;  of  Vincent  to  plan  the  modern 
Sunday  School.  A  generation  has  passed  since  he  began  his  first  think- 
ing, yet  the  thoughts  of  the  men  grown  gray  are  still  as  fresh  as  dew 
upon  the  flowers.  We  never  had  within  our  State  a  finer  thinker  than 
Vincent." 

At  the  general  conference  in  1888  in  New  York,  he  was  chosen  a 
Bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  He  was  a  man  of  clear 
vision,  of  lofty  inspiration,  of  loving  sympathy,  and  an  efficient  workman. 
He  rendered  a  great  service  for  the  Sunday  School  cause  of  Illinois  and 
other  states  and  did  a  noble  work  for  his  own  denomination  and  the 
world. 

MARSHALL  C.  HAZARD  was  born  in  1839  and  recently  passed 
away.  During  much  of  that  time  he  was  a  leader  among  the  Sunday 
School  forces,  not  only  of  Illinois,  but  of  other  states  as  well.  He 
was  graduated  from  Knox  College  in  1861,  which  a  few  years  later  hon- 
ored itself  and  Mr  Hazard  by  conferring  upon  him  the  degree  of  Ph.  D. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  Illinois  bar  as  a  lawyer  in  1864,  but  his  incli- 
nations were  more  strongly  drawn  towards  literary  than  legal  pursuits  and 
in  1866,  he  became  the  editor  of  the  Chicago  Advance  as  the  Western 
Representative  of  the  Congregational  denomination,  which  he  continued 
for  four  years  and  which  was  followed  by  two  years  employment  as  con- 
fidential agent  of  Messrs.  Jay  Cooke  &  Co.,  one  of  the  foremost  bank- 
ing houses  of  that  day.  In  1874  he  became  the  editor  of  The  National 
Sunday  School  Teacher  published  in  Chicago.  In  the  various  Editorial 
positions  he  has  occupied  he  has  written  expositions  of  five  courses  of 
the  International  Sunday  School  lessons,  of  seven  or  six  years  each,  and 
each  course  including  selectibns  from  the  whole  Bible.  These  studies 
were  sought  by  teachers  in  all  denominations  and  highly  appreciated. 
His  service  with  The  National  Sunday  School  Teacher  extended  from 
1874  to  1882  and  for  the  two  following  years  he  was  Assistant  Editor  of 
the  Sunday  School  Times,  which  position  he  left  to  become  the  Western 
Secretary  of  the  Congregational  Sunday  School  and  Publishing  Society. 
In  1885  he  moved  to  Boston  where  as  Editor  of  the  Pilgrim  Teacher 
from  its  beginning  and  the  various  helps  and  other  publications  of  the 
society  he  continued  in  active  service  until  he  became  Editor  Emeritus 
in  1910.  He  was  intimately  associated  with  Jacobs,  Vincent.  Reynolds 
and  the  Old  Guard  of  Illinois,  and  frequently  in  her  conventions,  and 
in  1880  at  the  State  Convention  at  Galesburg  he  delivered  an  address 
"One  Hundred  Years  of  Sunday  Schools"  which  showed  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  subject,  and  spoke  as  one  having  authority.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Religious  Educational  Association  and  president  of  the 
Sunday  School  Editorial  Association,  and  rendered  valuable  services  in 
cooperation  with  the  International  Lesson  Committee.  He  believed  in 
the  Graded  Lessons  and  rendered  valuable  suggestions  in  that  con- 
nection. His  closing  days  were  passed  in  Literary  labors  at  his  home  in 
Dorchester,  Mass.,  where  he  heard  the  Master's  summons  "Come  Home." 


27 

D WIGHT  L.  MOODY  was  born  in  Northfield,  Mass,  in  1837; 
founded  Northfield  Seminary  in  1879;  then  Moody  Bible  Institute  of 
Chicago  in  1886.  He  died  in  1899. 

He  was  one  of  the  greatest  leaders  of  the  organized  Sunday-school 
work  in  Illinois  and  associated  with  most  progressive  movements  of 
his  time.  He  was  won  to  Christ  through  the  personal  interest  and 
work  of  Mr.  Edward  Kimball,  superintendent  of  the  Mount  Vernon 
Congregational  Sunday-school  in  Boston,  where  Mr.  Moody,  a  stranger  in 
Boston,  was  attending  Mr.  Kimball's  Sunday-school,  who  gained  the 
young  man's  confidence  and  led  him  to  Christ.  In  relating  this  experi- 
ence Mr.  Moody  said :  "Before  my  conversion  I  worked  toward  the 
cross  but  since  then  I  have  worked  from  the  cross." 

Soon  after  uniting  with  the  church  in  Boston,  Mr.  Moody  came  to 
Chicago  and  united  with  Plymouth  Congregational  Church  and  at  once 
became  actively  interested  in  the  church  and  also  the  Sunday-school.. 
He  applied  for  a  class  in  a  little  mission  school  in  North  Wells  street 
and  was  told  that  he  could  have  such  a  class  if  he  would  get  his  own 
pupils.  Much  to  the  surprise  of  the  superintendent  Moody  was  on 
hand  the  next  Sunday  with  eighteen  "hoodlums"  gathered  from  the 
near-by  streets,  and  the  newly  organized  class  grew  rapidly.  The 
experience  which  Mr.  Moody  gained  here  proved  valuable  to  him. 

In  1858  he  began  work  in  the  North  Market  Street  Hall  Sunday 
'School  and  through  his  efforts  and  the  association  with  him  of  other 
active  Christian  workers,  this  Sunday-school  grew  rapidly  and  developed 
into  the  Illinois  Street  Church,  and  afterwards  the  Chicago  Avenue 
Church.  After  the  Sunday-school  sessions  Mr.  Moody  would  visit  the 
sick  and  sought  to  interest  the  parents  of  pupils  in  the  evening  Gospel 
service. 

His  associates  were  Mr.  John  V.  Farwell,  the  largest  dry-goods 
merchant  in  Chicago  at  that  time,  I.  H.  Birch  and  others;  and  through 
their  united  efforts  that  Sunday  School  became  the  largest  in  Chicago. 
In  1860  Mr.  Moody  gave  up  his  business  and  a  lucrative  salary,  and 
devoted  his  entire  time  and  energies  to  religious  work  in  which  he  never 
received  any  stated  income.  He  soon  received  many  requests  to  conduct 
evangelistic  services,  to  which  he  gave  himself  with  increasing  delight 
and  great  usefulness.  He  kept  a  deep  interest  and  a  strong  hold  on  his 
Sunday  School  work  and  drew  about  him  great  numbers  of  able  and  con- 
secrated workers,  such  as  B.  F.  Jacobs,  P.  P.  Bliss,  Major  Cole  and 
others.  One  of  these  associates  said  of  him,  "He  had  the  greatest  power 
to  set  others  to  work  and  thus  multiply  himself  of  any  man  I  ever 
knew." 

After  an  extended  evangelistic  tour  he  again  engaged  in  his  Sunday 
School  work.  His  .school  was  the  first  large  effort  in  the  direction  of 
an  undenominational  mission  Pchool.  Reports  of  it  were  stimulating 
and  many  workers  went  to  Chicago  to  inspect  the  school  and  ascertain 
its  methods.  The  mission  school  movement  if  Mr.  Moody  did  not 
originate  it,  at  least  received  a  great  impetus  through  his  work.  He 
made  it  popular  and  gave  it  momentum. 


28 

Mr.  Moody  devoted  much  time  to  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  and  he  gave  great  prominence  and  stability  to  this  work  in 
Chicago.  He  solicited  aid  for  these  two  great  enterprises  through  his 
friends 'in  different  parts  of  the  State.  These  lives  he  touched  soon 
became  enthusiastic  and  large  crowds  attended  the  annual  conventions 
and  the  interest  spread  to  adjoining  states  and  gave  rise  to  National 
and  International  Assemblies. 

In  1865  Mr.  Moody  was  a  member  of  the  State  Sunday  School  Execu- 
tive Committee,  which  undertook  the  plan  for  promoting  county  organi- 
zation, a  characteristic  feature  of  the  system  of  organization,  which  is 
now  everywhere  familiar.  He  visited  many  such  conventions,  not 
only  taking  a  part  in  the  program,  but  also  urging  the  use 
of  uniform  lessons,  and  in  1869  at  the  National  Sunday-school  Con- 
vention held  in  Newark,  N.  J.,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  arrange 
for  the  International  Sunday-school  series  of  Bible  Lessons. 

He  was  twice  president  of  the  Illinois  Sunday  School  Association, 
at  Bloomington  in  1869  and  at  Jacksonville  in  1876,  and  he  was  a  daily 
speaker  at  the  International  Convention  in  Boston  1876. 

The  present  Moody  Church  in  Chicago  is  the  outgrowth  of  the 
little  Sunday-school  in  the  North  Market  Street  Hall,  and  the  present 
organization  is  the  center  of  various  aggressive  forms  of  Christian  activity 
in  that  part  of  the  city.  The  work  is  still  carried  on  in  the  spirit  of  this 
man  of  humble  beginnings,  but  of  great  faith  and  complete  surrender  to' 
his  task. 

Personal  work  was  the  secret  of  his  usefulness.  He  was  a  man  of 
prayer,  a  student  of  the  Bible,  and  a  man  of  consuming  zeal  and  tire- 
less service.  He  said  at  one  time :  "If  I  had  the  trumpet  of  God  and 
could  speak  to  every  Sunday-school  teacher  in  America  I  would  plead 
with  each  one  to  lead  at  least  one  soul  to  Christ  each  year." 

Dr.  Hazard  said  in  substance:  I  remember  when  I  was  superin- 
tendent of  a  little  mission  school  up  here  by  the  depot,  that  I  heard  of 
one  or  two  men  in  Chicago  whom  I  desired  particularly  to  see.  I  heard 
of  their  conducting  some  mission  schools  there.  I  heard  of  their 
wonderful  growth,  of  the  methods  they  employed,  and  I  was  seized  with 
a  very  great  desire  to  know  something  of  their  methods  and  see  the 
men.  I  heard  that  they  were  men  of  great  moral  courage,  and  men  who 
were  inclined  to  have  their  own  way  in  spite  of  all  obstacles.  And 
finally  I  was  permitted  to  go  up  there  and  see  what  they  were  doing. 
On  the  North  Side  D.  L.  Moody  was  building  up  a  mission  school  that 
numbered  something  like  ten  or  twelve  hundred.  On  the  West  Side 
D.  W.  Whittle  was  also  building  up  a  mission  school  that  numbered  then 
some  fifteen  hundred.  And  coming  back  I  had  caught  their  zeal  and 
enthusiasm,  and  I  went  to  work  with  a  good  deal  better  spirit  than  I 
had  ever  done  before.  Then  came  that  special  trinity  that  God  raised 
up  among  you,  successors  to  their  earlier  pioneers,  foremost  of  whom 
was  Dwight  L.  Moody. 

Dr.  Hamill  said  in  substance:  You  know  the  story  of  Moody's 
life.  You  remember  how  as  a  boy  he  passed  from  the  benediction  of  his 
widowed  mother  into  a  Boston  store,  and  how  as  a  young  man  he  drifted 


29 

to  Chicago,  the  rising  city  of  the  West.  You  recall  how  he  filled  his 
pews  at  church  with  scores  of  young  men  who  yielded  to  his  importunity ; 
and  how  later  he  crossed  the  river  to  the  north  side  and  laid  the  foun- 
dation of  his  mission  Sunday  School;  and  then  began  his  larger  career 
as  a  Sunday  School  worker,  upon  returning  from  the  war  with  Eeynolds 
and  Jacobs,  by  resurrecting  the  Illinois  Sunday  School  Association  and 
laying  the  foundation  of  its  present  eminence,  as  a  bright  and  shining 
star  in  the  firmanent  of  Associations.  I  am  sure  when  I  speak  the 
name  of  Moody  there  is  responsive  echo  in  your  hearts  of  gratitude  to 
God  for  making  him  one  of  the  Old  Guard  of  Illinois. 

Mr.  Moody's  work  in  the  early  days  was  different  in  marked  degree 
from  his  later  work,  and  it  bore  more  pointedly  upon  the  Sunday-school ; 
but  throughout  he  was  the  exponent  of  high  principle  and  thoroughly 
good  work,  his  influence  being  felt  from  one  end  of  Illinois  to  the  other. 

ME.  WILLIAM  EEYNOLDS  was  born  in  Eoxbury,  Pa.  in  1830, 
and  removed  with  his  father  in  1836  to  Peoria,  Illinois.  Until  1887 
he  was  a  pork-packer,  devoting  much  of  his  time  and  means  to  religious 
work.  In  1858  he  was  converted  and  a  year  or  two  later,  while  in  Phila- 
delphia, he  was  greatly  quickened  and  began  active  service  for  Christ. 

In  1861  he  started  a  mission  Sunday  School,  from  which  grew 
Calvary  Presbyterian  Church,  which  he  superintended  until  his  death. 
He  was  active  in  many  local  religious  and  philanthropic  causes.  During 
the  war  he  served  with  energy  and  effectiveness  on  the  United  States 
Christian  Commission. 

In  1864  he  attended  the  State  Sunday-school  convention  at  Spring- 
field and  joined  with  Moody,  Jacobs,  Tyng,  and  others  in  building  up 
the  State  work.  At  the  convention  in  Decatur  in  1867,  Mr.  Eeynolds 
was  made  president  and  five  thousand  dollars  was  pledged,  and  the  State 
was  directed  for  a  campaign  of  organization;  Mr.  Eeynolds  receiving 
by  lot  the  southern  section.  All  the  lower  counties  were  soon  covered 
with  working  county  Sunday-school  associations.  Mr.  Eeynolds  con- 
tinued to  the  last  his  interest  in  the  Illinois  work. 

In  1869  he  attended  the  national  convention  at  Newark,  N.  J.,  and 
at  Toronto  in  1881  he  assisted  in  putting  B.  F.  Jacobs  at  the  head  of 
the  International  Executive  Committee  and  opened  the  era  of  aggressive 
advance  in  International  field  work.  He  presided  with  great  ability 
in  the  Fifth  International  Sunday-school  Convention  in  Chicago,  in 
1887,  his  business  having  been  largely  absorbed  by  the  great  packing 
interests  of  Chicago,  he  soon  after  accepted  Mr.  Jacobs'  urgent  invitation 
and  became  field  superintendent  for  the  International  work  and  so  con- 
tinued until  his  death  September  28,  1897.  It  was  during  these  ten 
busy  years  of  faithful  service  that  Mr.  Eeynold's  name,  commanding 
voice  and  figure  became  familiar  to  Sunday-school  attendants  in  all 
parts  of  North  America.  He  was  genial,  resourceful,  with  a  clear 
vision  and  with  apt  incident  to  drive  home  his  earnest  pleas  for  better 
work,  more  efficient  organization.  He  was  enthusiastic  in  his  constant 
tours  to  scattered  conventions,  practical,  intense  and  with  a  business 
training,  which  he  exemplified  in  his  local  campaign.  He  was  an  ideal 
field  agent. 


30 

He  was  stricken  at  Louisville  while  assisting  the  Kentucky  asso- 
ciation in  its  local  work,  and  expired  after  a  few  hours'  illness. 

In  early  manhood  he  was  married  to  Martha  Brotherson  of  Peoria 
who  survived  him  for  some  years.  He  had  the  able  and  devoted  cooper- 
ation of  Mrs.  Reynolds  in  all  his  work,  and  when  the  severe  blow  came 
the  sympathies  of  all  the  Sunday  School  world  were  turned  toward  Mrs. 
Reynolds.  He  made  a  most  valuable  contribution  to  the  Sunday  School 
cause  of  his  age.  He  really  carried  its  burdens  in  his  heart  and  lifted 
it  into  the  very  presence  of  the  great  Father. 

Mr.  Reynolds  said  at  one  time:  "I  am  proud  of  the  State  of  Illi- 
nois. I  was  traveling  some  time  ago  on  the  cars,  when  two  gentlemen 
in  front  of  me  were  discussing  as  to  which  was  the  greater  state — New 
York  or  Pennsylvania.  I  listened  to  them  a  while,  and  then  thought 
I  could  settle  the  dispute  for  them.  "Gentlemen,  excuse  my  inter- 
ruption, but  I  just  want  to  call  your  attention  to  the  greatest  State 
there  is  in  the  Union."  One  of  them  turned  and  said  "What  State  is 
that?"  and  I  said  "The  State  of  Illinois."  "What  claim  have  you,  sir, 
that  it  is  the  greatest  State  in  the  Union?"  "Well,  sir,  in  the  first 
place,  speaking  of  the  products,  we  raise  more  wheat  than  any  other 
state  in  the  Union,  and  we  raise  more  hogs  than  any  other  state  in  the 
Union.  And  then,  sir,  we  have  given  you  the  best  president  you  ever 
had — Abraham  Lincoln."  "We  gave  you  the  greatest  general  in  the 
Union — U.  S.  Grant."  "We  have  produced,  sir,  the  greatest  orator 
there  is  in  this  Union.  We  have  produced,  sir,  the  greatest  Evangelist 
— D.  L.  Moody.  We  have  got  the  greatest  Sunday  School  Association 
in  this  country.  We  have  the  greatest  grain  market  there  is  in  the 
Union,  the  greatest  pork  packing  establishments,  and  the  greatest 
lumber  market."  One  of  them  said  "Hold  on;  stranger,  we  give  it  up." 
"I  am  not  through — I  was  going  to  add  we  can  produce  the  best  Sunday 
School  men  there  are  in  the  Union,  and  when  they  want  any  of  them 
they  come  out  to  Illinois.  Here  is  Dr.  Vincent,  a  representative — an 
Illinois  production." 

At  another  time  he  said :  "I  was  out  in  Kansas  and  met  a  great 
many  of  the  best  Sunday  School  workers  there.  I  was  introduced  to  one 
of  them  as  from  Peoria.  "Peoria !  says  he,  "that's  the  town  where  there 
is  so  much  whiskey  made."  "Yes,  they  make  more  whiskey  there  than 
any  other  place  in  the  Union.  They  have  got  the  largest  distillery  of 
any  place  in  the  world?"  "All  true,  and  we  are  sorry  for  it,"  I  said, 
"but  there  is  something  else  in  Peoria.  We  have  got  more  Sunday 
Schools  to  the  square  foot  in  Peoria  than  any  other  city  in  the  State  of 
Illinois." 

Mr  William  Reynolds  said  at  another  time:  "One  of  Mr.  Spur- 
geon's  students  went  to  him  and  said,  "I  am  discouraged ;  I  don't  see  any 
results  from  my  work."  Mr.  Spurgeon  said,  "You  don't  expect  to  see 
results  coming  along  all  the  time,  do  you?"  "Why,  certainly  not/' 
"Well,  that  is  the  reason  you  don't  have  them."  Mr  Reynolds  then  said, 
"I  might  have  had  that  harvest  long  before,  but  I  did  not  look  for  it." 
One  time  in  Peoria  our  pastor  went  away  for  one  Sunday,  and  sent  a 
supply.  He  was  a  very  godly  man,  but  very  peculiar  and  queer  in  many 


31 

ways.  He  was  to  be  entertained  at 'our  house  over  Sabbath.  He  came 
and  I  met  him  at  the  door  and  he  laid  down  his  hat  and  coat  and  said, 
"Mr.  Eeynolds  what  are  you  doing  for  God?"  I  told  him,  among  other 
things,  that  I  was  teaching  a  class  in  the  Sunday-school.  "How  old  are 
they?"  he  asked,  I  ttfld  him  they  were  girls  about  eighteen  or  nineteen 
years  of  age.  "How  long  have  you  taught  them  ?"  I  said,  "About  three 
years."  "Are  they  Christians?"  I  was  forced  to  say  that  I  did  not 
know.  .  "What!"  said  the  man,  "do  you  mean  to  tell  me  that  you  have 
taught  those  girls  for  three  or  four  years  and  don't  know  whether  they 
are  Christians  or  not?"  I  said  "Yes."  He  said,  "Well  let  us  pray." 
As  soon  as  he  got  through  I  excused  myself  and  went  out  into  the 
kitchen  where  my  wife  was,  and  told  her  that  I  did  not  like  the  man  at 
all.  Of  course  she  wanted  to  know  why.  I  said,  "Why,  he  had  me  down 
on  my  knees  praying  because  I  told  him  I  did  not  know  whether  my 
girls  were  Christians  or  not."  "Well,"  said  she,  "don't  you  think  that 
he  is  about,  right?"  That  was  too  much  for  me  when  my  wife  went 
back  on  me  too,  and  I  went  out  and  walked  around  the  yard  for  a  while. 
Then  it  occurred  to  me  that  was  not  a  very  nice  way  to  treat  a  guest, 
so  I  went  back  into  the  parlor.  The  moment  I  entered  my  guest  said : 
"Mr.  Beynolds,  have  you  faith  to  believe  those  girls  are  going  to  be 
saved  tomorrow?"  I  replied  "No,  I  have  not."  He  said,  "Then  let 
us  pray."  After  the  prayer  supper  was  announced.  By  keeping  the 
conversation  very  warm,  I  managed  to  keep  off  that  subject  during  the 
supper.  After  supper  we  talked  about  various  things  until  it  was  time 
to  retire.  Then  courtesy  seemed  to  demand  that  the  guest  should  be 
invited  to  lead  the  devotions.  I  handed  him  the  Bible,  and  then  he 
said,  "Mr.  Eeynolds,  do  you  believe  those  girls  are  going  to  be  saved 
tomorrow?"  "I  replied  "No,  I  don't,"  My  guest  said:  "Then  there 
is  only  one  thing  to  pray  for  tonight  and  that  is  for  you."  I  went  to  bed 
but  not  to  sleep.  I  made  up  my  mind  that  God  must  have  sent  that  man 
there  with  a  message  for  me.  I  had  not  been  looking  for  results. 
Finally  I  rose  without  a  wink  of  sleep,  and  Avent  to  the  library  and 
began  to  study  my  lesson,  and  as  I  began  to  study  I  began  to  weep.  I 
got  down  on  my  knees  before  a  chair  and  read  over  my  class  card.  I 
read  the  name  "Jennie"  and  talked  to  God  about  Jennie,  and  so  6n 
through  the  list.  "Do  you  ever  go  to  God  about  Jennie,  and  Charlie, 
one  by  one,  and  ask  the  thing  you  want?  It  pays  to  do  that."  I  stayed 
there  all  night  long,  and  at  day-break  I  knocked  at  the  minister's  door, 
and  asked  him  if  he  would  get  up  and  come  down.  When  he  came 
down  I  asked  him  if  he  would  forgive  me  for  the  unkind  thought  I  had 
the  night  before,  and  pray  for  my  girls.  T  went  to  the  class  that  day 
in  a  different  frame  of  mind  than  ever  before.  I  closed  my  Bible  and 
said,  "girls,  I  want  to  make  a  confession.  I  have  been  a  poor  teacher. 
Here  I  have  been  your  teacher  for  three  or  four  years,  and  T  don't  know 
whether  you  are  saved  or  not.  Jennie,  are  you  saved?"  She  began 
to  cry.  So  T  went  on  down  the  line  until  seven  girls  were  in  tears,  and 
the  last  one  said,  "Mr.  Eeynolds,  why  did  you  wait  so  long  to  ask  that 
question?  We  have  often  talked  about  it 'and  wondered  why  you  did 


32 

not,  and  thought  perhaps  you  did  not  care."  Those  girls  were  saved 
that  very  day.  Let  us  honor  God  hy  expecting  results." 

Dr.  M.  C.  Hazard  said  in  substance:  Our  friend  William  Rey- 
nolds  of  Peoria  hearing  of  the  work  that  was  being  done  in  Chicago, 
had  somewhat  of  a  similiar  desire  that  I  had  to  go  up  and  see  what  was 
going  on,  and  did  go  up;  and  I  have  heard  it  said  that  he  went  to  a 
place  on  the  North  Side  in  the  evening,  where  he  found  this  same  Mr 
Moody  holding  a  little  colored  boy  with  one  hand,  and  a  Bible  in  the 
other,  trying  to  read  by  the  light  of  a  tallow  candle,  trying  to  read  to 
him  about  Christ,  trying  to  keep  him  still  while  he  read  to  him;  and 
there  were  a  great  many  of  the  words  that  he  had  to  skip,  and  at  last 
he  laid  the  book  aside,  and  said,  "I  can  tell  it  to  you  better  than  I  can 
read."  Mr  Reynolds  found  that  that  man  was  doing  a  wonderful  work ; 
and  he  said  that  if  he  could  do  work  he  believed  that  he  could;  and  he 
went  back  to  his  own  work  with  a  determination  that,  God  helping  him, 
he  would  do  more  than  ever  he  did  before.  And  so,  from  one  to 
another,  men  have  got  inspiration  and  enthusiasm  in  this  work  in 
Illinois,  until  they  have  come  to  love  each  other  as  brothers. 

Dr.  Hamill  said:  "What  shall  I  say  of  William  Reynolds?  Dear 
old  Reynolds!  I  can  feel  the  touch  of  his  hand  and  the  throb  of  his 
great  heart;  I  can  recall  his  princely  presence.  I  rode  thousands  of 
miles  upon  trains  with  him  by  day  and  night;  I  heard  him  in  crowded 
city  churches  speaking  to  multitudes,  or  addressing  nondescript  audi- 
ences upon  the  street  corners;  and  wherever  he  went  men  were  quick  to 
recognize  in  him  a  prince  in  Israel.  Fine  in  form  and  face,  big  in  heart 
and  in  brain,  skilled  in  organizing,  I  call  forth  from  the  past  of  the 
Old  Guard  this  great  organizer  of  Sunday  School  work.  You  know  the 
story  of  his  life,  how  he  came  of  sturdy  Presbyterian  stock ;  how  he  de- 
clined a  ball  tendered  in  his  honor  "for  his  mother's  sake;"  how  he 
challenged  the  infidel  of  his  town,  and  afterward  compassed  his  defeat 
as  a  candidate  for  governor  of  Illinois;  how  in  a  civic  crisis  he  declared 
"Reynolds  &  Ely's  hams  are  for  sale,  but  not  their  principles;"  how  he 
was  honored  by  great  conventions,  twice  president  of  Illinois  and  once 
president  of  the  International  convention;  how  he  raised  more  money 
and  drew  to  the  work  more  helpers  in  organization  than  any  other 
man  living  or  dead;  and  how  at  last,  within  two  days  of  his  public 
address,  with  his  wife  at  his  side,  on  September  28,  1897,  he  died  with 
the  words  upon  his  lips :  "I  die,  but  I  die  in  the  harness." 

It  was  during  the  seige  of  Vicksburg,  when  Grant's  army  was 
suffering  greatly  from  disease  caused  by  lack  of  proper  food,  that  the 
Chicago  Board  of  Trade  contributed  a  train  load  of  onions  and  potatoes 
for  their  relief.  Mr.  Wm.  Reynolds  was  appointed  to  deliver  them  to 
General  Grant.  Mrs.  A.  H.  Hoge,  of  the  Christian  Commission,  was 
delegated  to  accompany  Mr.  Reynolds.  At  Cairo  the  vegetables  were 
taken  from  the  train  and  placed  upon  a  steamer.  When  this  was  done 
Mr.  Reynolds  applied  to  the  General  in  command  for  a  pass  to  proceed 
through  the  lines.  It  was'  refused,  with  the  statement  that  General 
Grant  had  issued  orders  that  no  passes  should  be  given  nor  any  boats 


33 

permitted  to  navigate  the  river.  Mr.  Reynolds  pleaded  the  benevolent 
errand  he  was  upon,  but  all  to  no  purpose. 

"What  would  you  do  if  I  should  go  without  a  pass,"  he  said. 

"Leave  General  Grant  to  settle  with  you."  was  the  reply;  "but  if 
you  go,  you  must  understand  that  there  are  two  Confederate  batteries  ten 
miles  apart,  so  situated  that  they  can  enfilade  you." 

Mr.  Reynolds  went  to  the  hotel  to  communicate  with  Mrs.  Hoge, 
telling  her  he  had  determined  to  go,  but  excusing  her  from  the  danger 
if  she  wished. 

At  this  juncture  a  lady,  sitting  in  the  parlor,  looked  up  and  said: 
"Excuse  me.  I  cannot  help  hearing  your  conversation,  and  let  me 
advise  you  to  be  very  careful  how  you  disobey  the  order  of  General 
Grant."  It  became  known  afterwards  that  this  lady  was  Mrs.  Grant. 

The  captain  of  the  steamer  was  not  at  first  informed  that  they 
were  going  without  the  pass,  but  having  decided  to  proceed,  he  and  Mr. 
Reynolds  made  a  plan  to  put  out  the  fires  when  nearing  the  first  battery, 
having  previously  gotten  up  all  possible  speed.  They  passed  the  first 
battery  in  the  night  without  a  shot  being  fired.  They  steamed  up  with 
oil  and  passed  the  second  battery  without  being  molested.  The  way  was 
then  clear. 

Having  arrived  at  Vicksburg  with  their  precious  cargo,  they  pro- 
ceeded to  General  Grant's  headquarters. 

"We  have  brought  a  train  load  of  onions  and  potatoes  for  your 
army,  General  Grant,  from  the  Chicago  Board  of  Trade,"  said  Mr. 
Reynolds. 

"Did  the  General  at  Cairo  give  you  a  pass,"  said  General  Grant? 

"No,"  replied  Mr.  Reynolds,  'Tie  would  not  give  it  to  us." 

"By  whose  authority  are  you  here  then  ?"  he  sternly  asked. 

"By  an  authority  that  outranks  yours,  General  Grant,"  replied 
Mrs.  Hoge. 

"Name  it,  madame." 

"The  Lord  God  Almighty  sent  us  on  this  errand,"  replied  Mrs. 
Hoge. 

"I  acknowledge  the  superiority,"  said  General  Grant,  and  turning 
to  Mr.  Reynolds  he  said :  "I  would  rather  have  these  vegetables  than 
ten  thousand  fresh  troops.  What  can  I  do  for  you?" 

"Nothing,  sir,  only  give  us  a  pass  back  through  the  lines." 

A  mother  who  had  long  opposed  her  daughter's  wish  to  give  her- 
self to  foreign  missionary  work,  heard  this  thrilling  incident,  and  saw 
that  an  authority  higher  than  her  own  had  spoken  to  her  child — an 
authority  to  which  she  herself  owed  allegiance.  She  yielded,  and  now 
this  daughter  became  a  successful  teacher  in  China. 

Mr.  B.  F.  Jacobs  said  at  Mr.  Reynold's  funeral : 

"I  lay  three  wreaths  upon  his  casket — the  wreath  of  brotherly  love; 
the  wreath  of  the  Illinois  Sunday  School  Association,  of  which  he  was 
so  useful  and  honored  a  member  and  officer,  and  the  wreath  of  the  Inter- 
national Sunday  School  Association  of  which  he  was  once  president, 
and  the  last  ten  years  of  his  life,  the  Field  Superintendent.  I  may 

— 3  S  S  H 


34 

anticipate  the  word  of  His  Lord  and  mine,  and  add — "Well  done,  good 
and  faithful  servant;  enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord." 

There  are  two  views  of  a  good  man's  life — the  earthly  view,  and  the 
heavenly  view.  I  ask  you  men  and  women  of  the  city  where  he  lived, 
two  questions:  What  was  it  to  be  great?  and,  Was  William  Eeynolds 
great  ?  If  we  take  the  earthly  view,  is  not  true  greatness  to  be  measured 
by  the  number  of  persons  one  has  influenced  for  good?  And  by  that 
standard  I  ask,  Has  a  greater  man  than  our  brother  ever  lived  in  Peoria  ? 
Greater  far  than  any  monument  that  we  can  raise,  is  the  one  that  he 
has  built  for  himself  in  the  hearts  of  millions  of  men  and  women,  children 
and  youth,  that  have  been  and  will  be  helped  by  the  life  he  has  lived  and 
the  work  he  has  done. 

Can  we  take  the  heavenly  view  ?  Can  we  reckon  the  eternal  results, 
or  estimate  the  eternal  joy  of  a  life  spent  here  in  the  service  of  God  and 
for  the  good  of  men  ?  We  may  envy  the  life,  and  almost  envy  the  death 
of  our  beloved  friend  and  brother.  He  has  fought  the  good  fight,  he 
has  finished  his  course,  he  has  kept  the  faith,  and  he  has  entered,  with 
a  song  that  shall  never  cease,  the  Gates  of  Light." 

At  another  time  Mr.  Jacobs  said  of  Mr.  Eeynolds: 

"In  my  estimation,  his  place  is  with  Illinois'  greatest  men.  He  was 
of  princely  form  and  manner,  bold  and  courageous,  but  gentle  as  a  child. 
He  was  a  leader  of  men.  If  greatness  consists  in  influencing  others, 
and  if  it  is  measured  by  the  number  influenced,  and  the  result  of  that 
influence  on  their  lives,  William  Eeynolds  was  very  great.  His  work 
has  called  him  to  every  state  and  every  Canadian  province,  from  New- 
foundland to  Florida,  across  to  California  and  up  to  Vancouver's  Island. 
In  hundreds  of  cities,  men  who  are  themselves  leaders  have  been  in- 
fluenced by  him,  and  millions  of  children  have  been  and  will  be  helped- 
by  his  life  and  by  his  words.  No  other  American  has  spoken  to  such  com- 
panies in  so  many  places,  and  certainly  no  one  has  ever  presented  a  more 
important  subject  than  the  moral  and  religious  training  of  our  children 
and  youth.  There  are  few  men  whose  death  would  be  mourned  by  such  a 
multitude  of  good  people  in  America,  as  William  Eeynolds." 

Mr.  Jacobs,  Chairman  of  the  International  Executive  Committee, 
wrote : 

"I  thank  God,  as  I  look  back,  especially  for  the  last  ten  years,  since 
1887,  wonderful  years !  of  wonderful  service !  No  other  American  ever 
had  such  a  place,  and  none  have  left  a  richer  legacy. 

He  has  gone  out  from  Illinois  to  labor  in  all  the  land  on  the  North 
American  continent,  and  he  has  done  his  work  as  no  other  man  could 
have  done  it.  Is  not  that  greatness?  Is  it  possible  for  a  man  to  have 
lived  a  more  splendid  life  or  to  have  died  a  more  splendid  death  ? 

He  was,  indeed  a  wonderful  man.  We  are  as  yet,  too  near  to  him 
and  his  work  to  fully  appreciate  either.  As  we  advance  we  shall  know 
him  better.  I  do  not  see  how  we  can  love  him  more. 

Do  not  repine.  Jesus  said:  "Weep  not."  "He  took  away  des- 
pair when  He  said :  "He  is  not  dead ;"  He  substituted  hope  when  He 
added :  "He  sleepeth ;"  and  He  gave  us  a  glimpse,  of  Heaven  when 


35 

He  declared:  "He  shall  rise  again/'  "Love  to  you  and  to  all  with 
you." 

BENJAMIN  F.  JACOBS  was  born  at  Paterson,  N.  J.,  September 
18,  1834,  and  died  in  his  68th  year  at  Chicago  June  23,  1902.  His 
parents  were  of  blended  Puritan-Huguenot  stock  and  he  was  their 
eldest  born.  In  1854,  before  attaining  his  majority  he  came  to  Chicago 
and  engaged  in  the  commission  and  real  estate  business;  giving  without 
stint  his  time  and  money  to  Christian  work.  He  united  with  the  First 
Baptist  Church  in  a  short  time  after  reaching  the  city.  The  same  year 
he  married  Miss  Frances  M.  Eddy.  His  stupendous  Sunday  School 
work  began  in  1856  when  he  organized  the  First  Baptist  Mission  Sunday 
School  and  for  forty-five  years  was,  successively,  the  faithful  and 
efficient  superintendent  of  the  New  Street  Mission,  the  First  Baptist 
Sunday  School,  the  Newsboy  Mission,-  the  Tabernacle  Mission  and 
Immanuel  Baptist  Sunday  Schools.  He  helped  organize  the  Chicago  Y. 
M.  C.  A.  and  later  was  director  and  its  president  and  with  such  fine 
spirits  as  Reynolds,  Stuart  and  Moody  he  served  with  great  zeal  on  the 
Army  Christian  Commission  during  the  civil  war,  very  often  at  the  front 
ministering  tq,  the  sick  and  wounded. 

There  were  three  men  who  were  very  closely  associated  in  Sunday- 
school  extension  of  whom  B.  F.  Jacobs  was  undoubtedly  foremost.  In 
a  small  room  in  connection  with  his  place  of  business  he  had  set  apart 
a  special  place  for  meditation  and  prayer;  three  men  were  not  in- 
frequently found  in  that  room.  These  were  Jacobs,  Reynolds,  and 
Moody.  Many  were  the  precious  hours  that  were  spent  in  that  room, 
and  there  they  pledged  to  each  other  and  to  God  a  life  of  service,  of 
devotion,  and  of  purity ;  a  bond  that  was  never  broken  by  any  one  of  them. 

A  few  days  before  the  death  of  Mr.  Jacobs,  his  brother  William 
was  standing  by  his  bedside  and  he  was  telling  him  some  of  his  ex- 
periences in  the  Civil  War,  when,  as  a  representative  of  the  Christian 
Commission,  he  went  down  to  Nashville  to  see  the  soldiers,  and  he  told 
him  of  one  great  gathering  of  three  thousand  soldiers  on  the  grass 
around  the  capitol  building  at  Nashville.  He  was  about  to  speak  to 
them,  and  he  said,  "Boys,  do  you  remember  how  you  used  to  kneel  by 
your  mother's  knee  and  say,  'Now,  I  lay  me  down  to  sleep,  I  pray  the 
Lord  my  soul  to  keep ;'  do  you  remember  how  you  used  to  kneel  by  your 
Father's  knee  and  say/Our  Father  who  art  in  heaven  ?"  Let  us  be  boys 
again  to-day ;  let  us  forget  that  we  are  men,  forget  the  cares  of  life,  and 
like  little  children  let  us  kneel  to-day  and  open  our  hearts  for  a  blessing. 
Let  us  pray."  In  an  instant  all  those  three  thousand  soldiers  were  on  their 
knees.  The  Chief  of  artillery  who  was  riding  by,  the  cannon  booming 
on  every  side,  said,  "Wait  a  moment!"  then  he  sent  orders  in  every 
direction.  "Cease  firing  during  prayer!"  and  every  gun  was  silent  as 
the  petition  of  those  soldiers  went  up  to  heaven.  He  told  him  of  other 
precious  experiences  and  then  looking  into  his  brother's  face — that  last' 
look  of  his  William  ever  remembered — he  said,  "0,  William,  why  didn't 
I  let  everything  else  go  and  give  my  life  to  this  work  for  Jesus  Christ  ?" 
His  brother  William  after  relating  this  incident  said :  "Fellow  Sunday- 


36  . 

school  workers,  I  suspect  every  one  of  us  as  we  come  near  to  the  end  of 
life,  as  we  look  back  upon  our  lives,  will  be  ready  to  say,  "0,  why  didn't 
I  let  everything  else  go  and  give  my  life  to  the  service  of  Jesus  Christ?" 
We  are  here  to  ask  that  question.  We  are  here  to  consider  questions  of 
6uch  paramount  importance  that  the  making  of  millions  shrink  to 
nothing  beside  them.  May  God  help  us,  not  on  our  dying  bed,  but  this 
day  and  during  this  convention  to  resolve  that  by  the  grace  of  God  we 
will  let  go  of  those  things  whicli  are  chaining  us  to  earth  and  hinder- 
ing our  usefulness,  and  that  we  will,  with  renewed  consecration,  devote 
ourselves  to  Him  Who  loves  us,  and  will  go  out  to  serve  Him  with 
devotion  and  faithfulness,  such  as  the  past  has  never  witnessed. 

Mr.  Jacobs  probably  did  the  largest  part  in  reorganizing  and 
establishing  the  State  work.  He  was  elected  President  of  the  State 
Association  in  1868  at  Du  Quoin  and  made  a  fine  presiding  officer.  It 
was  largely  through  him  that  the  convention  idea  embodied  so  much  of 
institute  features,  which  marked  all  of  that  period.  As  an  indication 
of  the  rapid  progress  made,  Mr.  Jacobs  reported  to  the  third  national 
convention  (1869)  a  large  degree  of  enthusiasm  in  Illinois,  every 
county  in  the  State  being  organized,  and  fifty  countiest  having  town- 
ship organizations.  One  thousand  new  schools  had  been,  during  the 
previous  year,  established,  and  ten  thousand  conversions  reported. 

Mr  Jacobs  said  at  Champaign  in  1896 :  "But  when  we  summon 
the  angel  of  memory,  and  recall  our  joys,  we  cannot  refuse  to  look  as 
we  are  pointed  back,  to  Springfield  in  '64,  to  the  arrival  on  Saturday 
morning  of  the  advance  guard,  led  by  our  beloved  Moody,  and  the  con- 
vention presided  over  by  A.  G.  Tyng,  and  a  revival  that  spread  over  the 
State.  At  Peoria  in  '65,  the  plan  for  dividing  the  State  into  six  dis- 
tricts, was  formed,  and  the  great  campaign  began.  At  Decatur  in  '67, 
William  Reynolds  was  our  standard  bearer,  and  here  our  first  paid 
field  worker  was  chosen.  At  Du  Quoin  in  '68,  we  met  in  the  old 
tobacco  warehouse,  and  Illinois  took  the  first  step,  by  a  vote  favoring  the 
Uniform  Lesson  System,  and  there,  led  by  E.  C.  Wilder,  our  third 
president,  and  by  Edward  Eggleston,  we  planned  for  the  revival  of  the 
National  Sunday-school  convention,  which  had  been  discontinued. 
These  plans  were  acted  upon  at  the  meeting  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  at 
Detroit  in  the  fall  of  that  year,  and  the  National  Sunday-school  Con- 
vention met  in  Newark,  N.  J.  the  following  spring.  We  cannot  forget 
Bloomington  in  '69,  where  D.  L.  Moody  was  first  elected  president;  nor 
the  evening  meeting  when  President  Edwards,  D.  W.  Whittle  and  Dr. 
Burns,  roused  us  .to  great  enthusiasm.  At  Galesburg  in  '80,  our 
brother  beloved,  J,  McKee  Peeples,  was  our  leader.  Moody  and  Sankey, 
Whittle  and  McGranahan,  Reynolds,  Morton,  Gillett  and  Lucy  J. 
Rider,  were  all  there." 

At  a  reception  given  in  the  City  of  Washington  to  the  represent- 
atives of  the  International  Executive  Committee,  the  Hon.  John  W. 
Foster,  said :  "I  deem  it  an  honor  to  be  called  upon  to  follow  the  gentle- 
man who  has  just  taken  his  seat  (Mr.  B.  F.  Jacobs).  You  and  I,  and 
the  whole  Protestant  World  know  what  Mr.  Jacobs  and  his  associates 
have  done,  and  the  great  value  of  that  work.  I  am  glad  to  have  an 


37 

opportunity  to  unite  with  you  in  commending  the  work  of  the  Inter- 
national Sunday-school  Executive  Committee,  and  I  esteem  most  highly 
the  International  Lesson  System  of  instruction.  These  agencies  are 
doing  an  inestimable  service  in  adding  new  interest  to  the  study  of  the 
Bible,  in  fitting  the  rising  generation  for  better  service  as  citizens,  and 
in  leading  them  to  a  fuller  comprehension  of  their  duties  as  members 
of  society.  It  is  a  broad  field,  a  patriotic  and  holy  work/' 

Mr.  Jacobs  was  a  man  who  when  he  wanted  to  say  anything,  said 
it.  He  was  marvelous  in  our  eyes,  a  wise  leader,  to  whom,  with  several 
other  Illinois  Sunday  School  men  are  we  indebted  for  some  of  the  most 
marked  improvements  in  Sunday  School  instruction.  There  are  three 
men  especially  to  whom  we  owe  the  privilege  of  the  International 
system.  He  was  the  Peter  among  the  Sunday-school  apostles,  and, 
whenever  he  believed  that  a  thing  ought  to  be  done  and  can  be  done, 
it  was  difficult  to  make  him  keep  his  seat  and  keep  quiet.  When  by 
his  efforts  in  1871  a  committee  was  appointed  by  the  publishers  of 
Sunday-school  Lessons  to  select  a  series  of  Lessons,  a  trial  of  the 
uniform  plan,  and  when  three  of  them  met  together  and  declared 
that  the  thing  was  impracticable,  Jacobs  took  those  men  metaphorically 
by  the  throat  and  said,  "You  are  appointed,  not  to  declare  that  a  thing 
is  impracticable,  but  To  Do  It;"  and  he  made  them  do  it.  And  it  was 
owing  to  that  that  we  have  to-day  the  International  system.  And  I 
think  that  it  is  not  at  all  improper,  under  the  circumstances,  to  recognize 
the  fact  that  to  Illinois  Sunday-school  men  alone  is  due  the  fact  that 
we  have  such  a  blessing  throughout  the  world. 

Dr.  Hamill  said :  "How  can  I  speak  to  Illinois  of  the  last  survivor 
of  the  trinity  of  great  souls  that  God  committed  to  us  in  holy  leadership, 
Benjamin  Franklin  Jacobs.  The  first  time  I  attended  an  Illinois 
Sunday-school  convention  he  took  me  by  the  hand,  led  me  graciously 
to  the  platform,  and  spoke  word  of  cheer  that  I  needed  before  your  great 
body  of  workers ;  and  when  I  had  taken  my  seat,  he  put  his  arm  lovingly 
about  me  and  said,  "God  bless  you,  Hamill."  As  the  years  of  our 
fellowship  rolled  nearly  into  the  score,  that  man  of  the  great  heart  and 
of  the  great  brain  came  closer  and  closer  into  my  life,  and  molded 
me  more  and  more  into  his  ways  of  thinking,  into  his  brave  and  unfail- 
ing optimism,  into  his  stalwart  devotion  to  the  cause  of  the  Sunday 
School,  into  something  of  his  love  for  little  children.  I  think  it  is 
Carl  Eichter  who  says :  "The  thing  most  like  unto  God  is  a  little  child ;" 
and  the  thing  that  is  most  like  unto  a  little  child  is  a  truly  great  man. 
As  the  years  shall  succeed,  we  will  come  to  estimate  more  truly  the  real 
greatness  of  Mr.  Jacobs.  May  God  bless  his  memory.,  and  multiply  his 
successors!  May  I  be  speaking  to  some  young  man  to-day  in  this 
convention  who  in  years  to  come  shall  stand  in  the  place  where  Jacobs 
stood  and  lead  the  hosts  of  unborn  years  into  victories  which  he  achieved ! 
At  the  closing  meeting  of  the  World's  First  Sunday  School  Convention 
July  5,  1889,  at  Exeter  Hall,  London,  B.  F.  Jacobs  said  in  substance: 
"It  is  a  wonderful  thing  to  me  at  least  to  stand  in  this  hall  made  sacred 
by  so  many  associations,  and  filling  your  minds  with  so  many  memories, 
and  look  into  your  faces  in  remembrance  of  the  hours  of  communion  and 


38 

fellowship  that  we  have  enjoyed  together  during  the  past  few  days.  But. 
it  is  a  far  more  wonderful  thing  to  stand  here  tonight  in  the  presence 
of  God,  our  Father,  and  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  our  Saviour,  and  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  our  Comforter  and  Guide,  and  look  back  over  a 
century  of  Sunday  School  work,  and  see  what  has  been  accomplished, 
and  try  to  look  forward  to  the  coming  century,  and  imagine  what 
God  .is  waiting  to  do  for  us. 

Let  me  remind  you  that  the  records  of  the  first  century  of  American 
national  history  are  filled  with  achievements  and  progress  that  astonish 
the  world.  I  speak  as  an  American,  and  by  permission.  But  the  book 
that  contains  the  history  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  during  the  past 
century  is  crowded  with  wonders  and  blessings  that  call  out  the  deepest 
gratitude  and  encourage  the  boldest  faith.  The  history  of  the  modern 
'Sunday-school  work  is  nearly  all  recorded  in  this  volume,  and  this  work 
is  admitted  to  rank  among  the  great  things  of  the  century. 

The  day  has  passed  when  men  possessing  intelligence,  or  who  lay 
any  claim  to  it,  can  look  Sunday-school  workers  in  the  face  and  suggest 
that  theirs  is  a  work  for  women  and  children.  There  are  at  this  hour 
engaged  in  this  work  men  of  equal  brain  power  and  equal  heart  power, 
of  equal  influence  in  the  pulpit  and  in  business  circles,  of  equal  purity 
of  life  and  breadth  of  character  with  any  other  men  that  tread  the 
planet  on  which  we  live.  There  is  great  dignity  attached  to  the  Sun- 
day-school work.  I  stayed  a  few  weeks  ago  in  the  city  of  New  Haven. 
I  was  permitted  to  spend  an  hour  of  fellowship  with  my  beloved  friend 
Professor  William  E.  Harper  of  Yale  College,  perhaps  in  some  respects 
the  most  wonderful  teacher  of  Hebrew  that  our  century  has  produced, 
in  America  at  least;  and  the  man  whose  name  has  gone  around  the 
world.  That  man  I  found  to  be  not  only  deeply  engaged  and  interested 
in  this  work,  but  personally  the  teacher  of  two  Sunday-school  classes  in 
Yale  College;  one  of  the  freshmen's  class  numbering  123  students,  and 
a  Bible  class  with  from  90  to  100  members.  Some  ladies  in  the  city  of 
New  Haven  called  upon  Dr.  Harper,  and  asked  him  if  he  would  conduct 
a  teachers'  training  class,  a  class  for  the  thorough  study  of  one  book  of 
the  Bible,  that  they  might  get  an  insight  into  the  way  of  studying  the 
Bible;  and  the  doctor  told  them  that  his  engagements  were  too  great 
and  many  to  allow  him  to  make  new  ones.  They  said,  "Doctor,  we  had 
not  thought  you  would  do  this  without  compensation,  and  we  have 
agreed  to  pay  you  4  pounds  each,  or  20  dollars  of  our  money,  being 
$500.,  for  the  class  of  25  ladies."  Such  was  the  desire  to  study  the 
Word  of  God  in  New  Haven. 

I  tell  you,  gentlemen,  h;  is  getting  to  be  a  dignified  business  to  be 
a  Sunday-school  teacher.  Not  only  so,  but  I  was  in  the  city  of  Boston 
with  Mr.  George  W.  Cable,  whose  name  I  am  sure  has  floated  across  the 
Atlantic.  He  is  a  teacher  of  a  class  of  more  than  2,000  men  and 
women,  who  come  together  on  Saturday  afternoon,  huving  come  there 
from  73  towns  and  cities,  leaving  their  business,  giving  time  and  monev, 
paying  their  own  expenses,  and  contributing  2,500  dollars  or  500 
pounds  per  annum  to  the  teacher  who  will  teach  the  one  lesson  a  week 
during  the  year.  It  is  dignified  work  teaching  in  the  Sunday-school. 


39 

Perhaps  some  of  us  have  not  had  quite  as  much  pay  as  would  tend  to 
increase  our  dignity;  we  may  have  little  stimulus  in  that  direction. 
But  we  re-affiirm  the  statement  that,  admitting  all  that  can  be  claimed 
for  any  other  branch  of  church  or  Christian  work,  we  solemnly  declare 
our  belief,  that  in  the  work  performed,  in  the  results  achieved,  and  in  the 
expense  incurred,  the  Sunday-school  is  the  most  important,  the  most 
hopeful,  and  the  most  economical  agency  known. 

I  have  only  one  point  to  make  in  support  of  that  statement,  for 
you  can  easily  solve  the  problem  with  this.  It  is  the  most  hopeful, 
because  we  have  the  children.  In  the  great  and  awful  conflict  between 
truth  and  error,  between  faith  and  unbelief,  between  morality  and  virtue 
on  the  one  side  and  immorality  and  vice  on  the  other  side,  between 
temperance  and  intemperance,  between  liberty  and  lawlessness,  the  side 
that  gains  the  children  will  secure  the  vfctory,  and  the  side  that  loses 
the  children  will  suffer  defeat.  The  destiny  of  England  and  America 
is  in  the  hands  of  the  children.  If  these  children  are  rightly  led  and 
truly  taught  by  faithful  teachers,  we  shall  be  saved ;  if  they  are  neglected 
and  untaught,  the  danger  is  appalling.  A  large  number  of  these 
children  are  now  in  our  Sunday-schools,  and  many  more  are  within  our 
reach;  therefore,  we  are  to  a  great  extent  responsible  for  the  future. 
Great  and  expanding  as  this  thought  is  when  applied  to  our  own  country, 
it  increases  as  we  remember  that  we  have  much  to  do  in  deciding  the 
destiny  of  the  world.  The  best  way  to  meet  responsibility  is  to  push 
our  work.  The  best  place  to  begin  our  work  is  nearest  our  home,  and 
the  best  time  is  now. 

It  is  impossible  for  us  to  know  very  much  about  our  work  unless 
we  know  those  for  whom  we  are  working.  What  wonderful  mistakes 
of  judgment  would  be  corrected;  what  wonderful  mistakes  of  methods 
would  be  righted,  what  wonderful  mistakes  of  every  description  would 
we  avoid  if  we  understood  and  felt  for  those  whom  we  were  to  teach. 
Years  ago  a  distinguished  brother  from  New  York,  a  merchant,  used  to 
come  to  the  west  to  help  us  in  our  Sunday-school  convention,  and  he 
said  he  had  been  promoted  from  being  a  superintendent  of  the  school 
and  a  teacher  of  a  class  of  adults  to  become  the  teacher  of  the  primary 
or  infant  class  in  the  Sunday-school;  and  I  tell  you  it  is  a  great 
promotion. 

Hear  Mr.  J.  B.  Gough.  He  said,  one  night  in  a  sleeping  car  the 
passengers  were  kept  awake  until  a  late  hour  by  the  crying  of  a  child, 
and  suddenly  a  man  got  thoroughly  out  of  patience — there  were  actually 
half  a  dozen  of  these  men  in  America — put  his  head  through  the  curtain 
and  said,  "Where's  the  mother  of  the  child  ?"  A  voice  came  back  in  a 
minute,  "In  her  coffin  in  the  baggage  car."  Presently  there  was  a  thud 
on  the  floor,  and  a  pair  of  feet  in  blue  yarn  stockings  struck  the  carpet, 
a  great  pair  of  arms  was  stretched  out,  and  a  voice  said.  "Just  give  me 
that  baby,  and  the  rest  of  you  go  to  sleep.  You  need  not  be  afraid  of 
my  dropping  it.  I  have  held  them  before/'  He  said,  "Please,  go  to 
sleep."  He  put  the  babe  over  his  shoulder,  put  his  great  hand  on  it, 
and  began  in  his  low  voice  to  sing  to  it  and  soon  the  qhild  was  fast 
asleep.  These  are  the  very  kind  of  angels  this  world  is  longing  for  now. 


40 

There  has  got  to  be  more  of  tender  sympathy  entering  into  our  work 
from  beginning  to  end.  We  have  got  to  deal  with  that  tender  loving 
spirit  that  filled  the  heart  of  the  Son  of  God  when  He  was  down  here. 
The  Gospel  must  furnish  the  solution  of  the  great  social  problems, 
and  we  believe  that,  of  all  the  Gospel  instrumentalities  used  by  the 
church,  the  Sunday  School  has  the  first  place,  because  it  has  the  children 
and  the  youth. 

As  an  educational  force  the  Sunday-school  has  not  been  given  its 
proper  place.  American  Christians  are  slowly  arousing  to  the  mighty 
efforts  that  are  made  by  skeptics  and  others  to  undermine  our  edu- 
cational system.  And,  while  it  may  be  truly  said  that  the  only  text 
book  of  the  Sunday-school  is  the  Bible,  yet  how  great  its  power.  As  an 
educator  it  is  fitted  to  teach  and  train  the  conscience  and  to  educate 
the  reflective  powers. 

President  Grant  said :  "Hold  fast  to  the  Bible  as  the  sheet  anchor 
to  your  liberties,  write  its  precepts  in  your  heart,  and  practice  them  in 
your  lives.  To  the  influence  of  this  Book  we  are  indebted  for  all  pro- 
gress made  in  our  true  civilization,  and  to  this  we  must  look  as  our 
guide  in  the  future." 

Talmage  says :  "The  conquest  of  America  will  be  by  the  conquer- 
ing army  of  children,  they  are  the  preface  to  the  book  of  the  future. 
The  destiny  of  our  country  is  revealed  in  the  boy  of  to-day.  Which 
shall  conquer,  the  good  or  bad  ?"  And  he  cries  out,  "Oh  for  one  gener- 
ation of  holy  men!"  and  he  asks,  "Shall  it  be  the  next?"  That  is  our 
wish ;  that  is  our  work. 

Brethren,  "Let  us  rise  and  go  to  our  work,  tomorrow  we  shall  rise 
and  go  to  our  reward." 

"To  the  44th  Convention,  Illinois  Sunday  School  Association,  In  session 
at  Sterling,  Illinois.  At  Home,  May  IS,  1902. 
DEAR  BRETHREN  :  You  have  learned  the  reason  of  my  absence 
from  the  convention,  but  you  do  not  know  how  much  I  long  to  be  there. 
The  memories  of  other  convention  days,  the  loving  greetings,  the  blessed 
fellowship,  the  holy  enthusiasm,  and  the  sacred  joy,  fill  me  with 
thanksgiving  for  the  past,  and  with  hope  for  the  future.  The  splendid 
procession  of  workers  seem  to  pass,  and  I  hear  the  glad  tidings,  and 
thank  God  for  you  all.  I  am  with  you  in  spirit,  and  rejoice  in  your 
success.  The  glad  songs  seem  to  come  into  my  room,  as  dear  Bro.  Excell 
leads  the  great  chorus,  and  good  Dr.  Potts  urges  you  to  go  on.  You 
know  the  old  song: 

"If  you  cannot  on  the  ocean  sail  among  the  swiftest 

fleet, 
You  can  stand  among  the  sailors,  anchored  yet  within 

the  bay, 
You  can  lend  a  hand  to  help  them,  as  they  launch 

their  boats  away." 

So  from  my  retreat  I  wave  you  a  God  speed,  and  a  bon-voyage  for  the 
new  year.  Thirty  years  ago,  when  I  was  absent  in  the  East,  on  account 
of  the  great  fire  of  1871,  at  your  convention  held  at  Aurora,  you  elected 


41 

me  Chairman  of  your  Execuetive  Committee.  Again  and  again  I  have 
urged  you  to  select  another  and  a  younger  man  for  Chairman.  Let  no 
consideration  or  affection  -for  me  keep  you  from  doing  the  wisest  and 
best  thing  for  the  work  so  dear  to  our  hearts.  I  am  grateful  for  the 
kindness  shown  and  the  honors  you  have  heaped  upon  me,  and  pray 
God  to  abundantly  reward  and  bless  you.  But  surely  you  have  done 
all  and  more  than  I  could  ask,  and  I  am  content. 

It  was  my  privilege  some  years  ago  to  hold  some  meetings  with 
children  in  Sterling,  and  to  rejoice  over  some  that  accepted  Jesus  as  their 
Saviour.  I  think  of  them  now,  and  pray  that  as  a  result  of  your  con- 
vention many  of  the  children  now  living  in  that  city  may  be  won  to 
Christ.  And  my  prayer  is  for  the  last  and  lowest  boy  and  girl  in 
Illinois,  that  they  may  be  reached  and  saved. 

'Faithful  is  He  that  calleth  you,  who  also  will  do  it.' 

Sincerely  yours,  B.  F.  JACOBS." 

The  first  step  toward  the  World's  Convention  at  Jerusalem  had 
been  taken  and  there  was  given  to  our  leader,  B.  F.  Jacobs,  the  hero  of 
many  Sunday-school  battles,  a  vision  of  the  land  of  promise,  which  he 
greatly  desired  to  see  and  conquer  for  Christ,  but  like  Moses,  he  was  not 
permitted  to  go  thither.  Five  months  passed;  delegates  from  every 
part  of  North  America  and  some  from  Great  Britain  were  journeying 
toward  Denver  to  hold  the  Tenth  International  Convention,  but  our 
Chieftain  lay  prostrate  upon  a  bed  of  fatal  illness.  He  learned  of  the 
presence  in  Chicago  of  a  long  time  friend,  Dr.  Geo.  W.  Bailey,  a  dele- 
gate to  the  Denver  convention,  who,  against  the  protests  of  family  and 
physicians,  he  insisted  upon  seeing,  if  only  for  a  moment.  He  was 
too  weak  to  speak — his  greeting  was  the  old  familiar  smile,  and  then 
as  his  friend  knelt  by  his  bed,  with  much  effort  he  whispered,  uttering, 
in  broken  words,  "Men-die,-but-God-liyes,-and-his-work-goes-on-.  Give 
-my-love-to-the-brethren-."  And  in  a  few  hours — even  before  the  open- 
ing notes  of  the  convention  were  sung — he  died  and  was  gathered  to  his 
people. 

REPORT  OF  COMMITTEE  ON  RESOLUTIONS,  AT  THE 
CONVENTION,  1903. 

In  1864,  thirty-nine  years  ago;  The  Illinois  Sunday  School  Con- 
vention met  in  the  city  of  Springfield.  Four  young  men,  William 
Reynolds,  Dwight  L.  Moody,  Benjamin  F.  Jacobs,  and  A.  G.  Tyng, 
fresh  from  the  work  of  the  Christian  Commission  in  which  they  had 
done  grand  service  for  the  country,  for  the  church,  and  for  the  soldiers 
of  the  army,  reached  Springfield,  eager,  full  of  zeal  for  service,  and 
longing  for  the  souls  of  men.  *  *  * 

Such  was  the  beginning  of  the  service  of  B.  F.  Jacobs  in  the  Illinois 
State  Sunday  School  Convention.  It  was  more  than  that,  that  little 
prayer  meeting  was  the  beginning  of  a  new  life  and  power  that  had  never 
been  felt  before  in  the  Sunday-school  in  Illinois.  A  new  spirit  pervaded 
the  entire  field.  B.  F.  Jacobs,  Reynolds  and  their  coadjutors  with 
other  kindred  spirits  whom  they  enlisted  and  filled  with  their  zeal  and 


42 

enthusiasm,  commenced  a  tour  of  the  State  making  a  thorough  canvass, 
organizing  county  conventions  and  creating  a  fever  of  enthusiasm  that 
culminated  in  a  magnificent  convention  held  in  Decatur  in  1867  of  which 
William  Eeynolds  was  President  and  in  which  were  gathered  more  than 
a  thousand  delegates  from  nearly  every  county  in  the  State. 

From  those  beginnings  nearly  forty  years  ago,  Benjamin  F.  Jacobs 
has  been  the  master  spirit  in  the  Sunday  School  work  in  Illinois,  and 
subsequently  the  central  figure  of  the  world's  Sunday-school  movement. 
He  has  given  his  time  and  expended  his  money  without  stint  in  advanc- 
ing the  cause  so  dear  to  his  heart.  His  thorough  study  of  the  Bible  was 
an  inspiration  not  only  to  himself,  but  to  every  one  with  whom  he  came 
in  contact.  His  warm,  loving  heart  was  full  of  sympathy  for  the 
needy,  and  drew  his  associates  and  all  who  knew  him  to  a  warm  love  and 
personal  devotion  to  himself  that  could  hardly  be  equaled.  He  was  so 
loving  himself,  so  tender  and  thoughtful  of  others  that  he  drew  all 
closer  and  closer  to  him.  His  genial  temperament  and  the  wit  and 
humor  that  gushed  forth  from  his  lips  as  from  an  overflowing  fountain, 
all  combined  with  his  earnest  spirituality  made  him  easily  the  master  of 
assemblies  and  the  one  man  who  controlled  and  in  a  sense  held  in  his 
own  hand  the  conventions  and  the  Sunday-school  work  in  the  State 
and  the  Nation.  For  many  years  he  was  chairman  of  the  executive  com- 
mittees of  the  State,  of  the  nation,  and  the  world.  He  was  present  at 
every  State  convention  since  he  entered  it  thirty  years  ago  until  two  years 
ago,  when  increasing  weakness  forbade  his  attendance,  but  he  sent  his 
report  as  chairman  of  the  executive  committee  to  be  read  by  another. 

One  year  ago  when  the  convention  met  at  Sterling,  it  was  evident 
that  he  was  drawing  near  the  end  of  his  wonderful  life.  Even  then 
while  lying  on  the  bed  from  which  he  was  never  to  rise,  he  managed  to 
write  another,  his  last  report  to  the  Illinois  Sunday  School  Convention, 
which  he  sent  to  be  read  for  him.  All  will  remember  how  wonderfully 
comprehensive  was  that  report  written  in  the  midst  of  the  feebleness  of 
approaching  dissolution.  He  seemed  to  survey  the  entire  field  and 
recognize  the  needs  of  every  part.  While  rising  to  higher  and  higher 
flights,  seeming  to  catch  glimpses  of  the  heavenly  land  to  which  he  was 
hastening,  he  was  holding  out  his  hands  in  benediction  and  blessing 
over  the  valleys  he  was  leaving  behind  him,  bequeathing  to  those  whom 
he  loved,  messages  of  guidance  and  encouragement,  of  cheer  and  comfort 
to  be  held  in  loving  memory  long  after  his  glorified  spirit  had  taken 
its  flight  to  the  mansions  of  the  blessed. 

While  we  are  gathered  in  this  annual  convention,  alone,  yet  not 
alone,  with  a  full  consciousness  of  the  presence  of  our  Saviour;  with  an 
abiding  trust  in  that  God  in  whom  our  brother  trusted;  with  the  faith 
that  as  his  heart  was  full  of  love  and  sympathy  while  with  us,  so  still 
more  as  he  looks  down  upon  this  gathering  from  his  heavenly  home, 
we  do  not  grieve ;  we  weep,  "sorrowing  most  of  all  that  we  shall  see  his 
face  no  more,"  but  we  rejoice  for  what  he  has  been  and  what  he  has  done, 
not  only  here,  but  in  the  Nation  and  the  world.  We  thank  God  that  for 
so  many  years  we  were  blessed  with  his  presence  and  leadership :  for  his 
Bible  expositions,  so  full  of  force  and  power,  not  only  in  great  gatherings 


43 

but  in  his  classes  in  Chicago,  and  through  the  public  press;  and  we  join 
heartily  in  saying  that  Benjamin  F.  Jacobs  was  truly  a  man  sent  from 
God,  with  a  message  that  he  might  "draw  all  men  unto  him." 

We  thank  our  God  upon  every  remembrance  of  him  in  the  church 
militant  and  joyfully  hasten  on  to  meet  him  in  the  church  triumphant. 
"To  live  in  hearts  we  leave  behind  is  not  to  die." 

.ESTIMATES  OF  THE  WORTH  OF  B.  F.  JACOBS. 

Dr.  John  Potts:  "He  was  the  greatest  Sunday  School  worker  on 
Earth." 

Dr.  H.  M.  Hamill:  "Never  from  the  days  of  Xerxes  with  his 
three  million  men,  has  any  one  swayed  so  great  and  intelligent  and  con- 
secrated a  host  as  has  this  man.  No  man  could  have  held  in  his  grasp 
for  nearly  half  a  century  the  work  that  bears  the  name  "International," 
without  having  been  truly  a  great  man." 

Marion  Lawrence:  "By  the  touch  of  his  hand,  by  the  inspiration 
of  his  word  and  presence,  he  has  been  instrumental  in  starting  in  this 
public  work  at  least  more  men  and 'women  than  any  other  man  that 
ever  lived." 

The  Washington's  Worlds  Sunday-school  Convention  by  resolution 
declared:  "We  recognize  in  Mr.  Jacobs  the  greatest  Sunday  School 
leader  the  world  has  ever  known." 

Measured  by  any  just  standard  of  greatness,  B.  F.  Jacobs  was  a  great 
man — great  in  his  personality — his  ability  as  an  organizer,  his  potent 
influence  over  men,  his  clear  and  far  seeing  vision  of  Christian  work, 
his  power  over  great  conventions  as  a  speaker  and  religious  teacher,  his 
keen  statesmanship  as  an  executive  chairman  and  his  surpassingly  mag- 
netic leadership  of  a  great  host  numbering  many  millions  of  devoted 
men  and  women.  By  such  contemporaries  as  Moody,  Eeynolds,  Wana- 
maker,  Maclaren,  Potts,  Warren,  Vincent,  Blackall,  and  Sir  Francis  F. 
Belsey,  he  was  held  in  high  reverence  as  easily  their  chief.  Only  one 
of  a  high  order  of  greatness  could  direct  so  great  and  intelligent  a  cohort 
of  Christian  workers  for  so  many  years  of  continued  victory.  The  one 
thing  he  loved  most  is  his  towering  monument.  His  last  letter  penned 
feebly  on  his  death-bed  to  Dr.  H.  M.  Hamill  pleading  for  the  Inter- 
national Uniform  Lesson  System  at  the  Denver  Convention,  belting  the 
world  this  invention  of  his  has  gone,  including  twenty-five  millions  of 
students  in  four  hundred  languages,  a  world-wide  popular  system  of 
Bible  Study  with  which  his  name  and  fame  to 'the  end  of  time,  will  be 
indissolubly  linked. 

The  Editor  of  the  Ladies  Home  Journal  several  years  ago  published 
an  editorial  severly  criticising  the  Sunday  Schools  of  the  United  States 
and  refused  to  publish  any  reply  from  the  friends  of  the  Sunday  Schools, 
Mr.  B.  F.  Jacobs  included.  The  Editor  was  scathingly  berated  by  many 
papers  and  friends  of  the  Sunday  School  through  out  the  country.  Mr. 
Jacobs  quietly  prepared  the  following  poem  and  at  a  meeting  of  the 
International  Sunday  School  Executive  Committee  had  Mr.  E.  0.  Excell 
sing  it  as  only  "Uncle  Ex"  can  do  it.  It  was  afterwards  given  wide 


44 

publication :  *  A.  H.  Mills  a  few  years  later  paraphrased  the  last  verse 
of  the  original  song  "Illinois"  as  a  loving  tribute  to  the  Brothers,  Jacobs, 
Moody  and  Eeynolds. 

"ILLINOIS" 

Have  you  heard  what  they  are  saying? 

Illinois,  Illinois. 
Is  the  Sunday-school  decaying? 

Illinois,  Illinois. 

We  have  heard  you  tell  the  story, 
You  have  often  sung  its  glory, 
In  each  State  and  Territory, 

Illinois,  Illinois, 
Is  it  growing  old  and  hoary? 

Illinois. 

Are  you  really  losing  ground? 

Illinois,  Illinois. 
Are  your  banners  coming  down  ? 

Illinois,  Illinois. 
No,  the  Eastern  man  is  wrong; 
We  can  sing  another  song ; 
We're  Eight  Hundred  Thousand  strong, 

Illinois,,  Illinois. 
And  we're  growing  right  along, 

Illinois. 

We  have  better  schools  and  more, 

Illinois,  Illinois, 
Than  we've  ever  had  before, 

Illinois,  Illinois; 
All  our  counties  are  in  line; 
Thirteen  hundred  sixty-nine 
Of  our  townships  give  the  sign, 

Illinois,  Illinois, 
That  we're  gaining  all  the  time, 

Illinois. 

We  can  speak  for  all  the  others, 

ILlinois,  Illinois. 
For  our  sisters  and  our  brothers, 

Illinois,  Illinois. 
We  are  happy  to  relate 
That  every  noble  State, 
Yes,  from  Maine  to  Golden  Gate, 

Illinois,  Illinois, 
We  are  growing  strong  and  great, 

Illinois. 


45 

And  we  have  a  word  to  say, 

Illinois,  Illinois, 
For  our  friends  in  Canada, 

Illinois,  Illinois, 
They  are  growing  every  day, 
And  we're  sure  .that  you  can  say 
Sunday-schools  have  come  to  stay, 

Illinois,  Illinois, 

Let  us  Work  and  Watch  and  Pray, 
Illinois. 

*Not  without  thy  wonderous  story. 

Illinois,  Illinois, 
Can  be  writ  the  Master's  Glory, 

Illinois,  Illinois. 
On  the  record  of  thy  years, 
B.  F.  Jacobs'  name  appears; 
Moody,  Reynolds  and  our  tears, 

Illinois,  Illinois, 
Moody,  Reynolds  and  our  tears, 
Illinois. 

WILLIAM  B.  JACOBS  was  born  November  10,1839  in  Homer, 
New  York,  and  when  ten  years  old  was  brought  to  Goshen,  Indiana, 
where  his  boyhood  was  spent.  He  gave  his  heart  to  Christ  at  the  age  of 
17  and  united  with  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  that  City  July  27,  1866. 
He  heard  and  obeyed  his  Country's  call  in  1862  and  on  August  8,  1862 
was  commissioned  as  First  Lieutenant  and  made  Captain  on  August 
21st  of  the  same  year  and  Major  of  the  Regiment  May  1,  1865,  and 
served  to  the  close  of  the  war,  returning  home  July  1865.  He  was  elected 
Superintendent  of  the  Presbyterian  Sunday  School  and  held  that 
position  until  1870  when  he  removed  to  Chicago  and  joined  with  his 
brother  B.  F.  Jacobs  in  the  commission  business.  In  the  fire  and  panic 
he  lost  all  he  had  and  his  friends  advised  him  to  take  the  bankrupt  law 
but  he  refused  and  paid  every  dollar  of  his  indebtedness.  In  1881  he  was 
elected  secretary  of  Cook  County  Sunday  School  Association  and  con- 
tinued to  serve  it  for  19  years.  In  November  1882  he  was  asked  to  serve 
as  General  Secretary  of  the  Illinois  Sunday  School  Association  giving 
the  summer  and  fall  to  the  State  work  and  the  winter  and  spring  to  the 
work  of  Chicago  and  Cook  County.  This  he  did  and  held  the  same  till 
1900  when  he  resigned  the  Chicago  work  to  devote  his  entire  time  to  the 
State  work. 

Comparatively  few  workers  now  remain  who  were  present  at  the 
convention  when  Mr.  Jacobs  began  his  work  as  General  Secretary  of  this 
Association  at  Champaign  in  1882.  We  of  the  present  day  have  no 
conception  of  the  many  hardships  endured  and  sacrifices  made  by  our 
brother  beloved  during  his  long  years  of  loving,  faithful  service  for  the 
Master  and  the  child.  No  man  of  the  passing  generation  in  this  State 
stamped  more  deeply  his  personality  on  the  homes  of  this  State  than  did 


46 

William  B.  Jacobs.  No  man  had  more  friends  or  more  loyal  ones  than 
he — they  are  in  every  city,  village  and  township  in  this  State.  He  not 
only  had  power  with  men  but  with  God.  He  placed  God  in  the  fore- 
thought of  his  life.  He  honored  God  and  God  has  honored  him  and 
given  him  a  name  and  influence  in  the  Sunday-school  world  that  any  of 
.us  might  justly  and  profitably  emulate.  One  could  not  long  be  with 
Mr.  Jacobs  without  instinctly  feeling  "Here  is  a  man  who  walks  with 
God."  The  religious  and  devotional  side  of  his  life  was  never  eclipsed 
by  the  practical  and  material  side  of  his  work.  The  Bible,  prayer  and 
communion  were  never  relegated  to  a  second  place.  God  was  given  the 
main  track  and  the  right  of  way  in  his-  life.  He  lived  in  God  and  God 
lived  in  him. 

When  he  had  completed  his  twenty-fifth  year  of  service  there 
occurred  the  breaking  of  the  Illinois  Sunday  School  Alabaster  Box. 

TESTIMONIAL  TO  WILLIAM  BUKDON  JACOBS. 

Doubtless  the  most  surprised  person  among  the  great  multitude 
who  thronged  the  First  M.  E.  Church  at  the  Dixon  Convention  in  1908, 
was  our  General  Secretary,  William  B.  Jacobs,  when  Mr.  W.  C.  Pearce, 
in  the  name  of  the  Executive  Committee  and  of  the  Sunday-school 
workers  of  Illinois,  presented  to  him  a  beautiful  testimonial.  As  a  work 
of  art  it  is  beyond  description ;  as  a  tribute  of  deepest  love,  of  highest 
appreciation  and  of  strongest  confidence  it  speaks  for  itself.  The 
testimonial  is  written  on  vellum  in  beautifully  illuminated  letters  of 
red  and  blue,  inlaid  and  decorated  with  gold.  It  is  in  the  form  of  a 
book,  about  nine  by  twelve  inches  when  closed,  with  binding  of  walrus 
hide.  On  the  cover  is  a  shield  beaten  out  of  solid  gold,  bearing  the 
initial  "3".  It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  exquisite  workmanship, 
but  it  may  be  sufficient  to  say  that  it  was  in  perfect  harmony  with  the 
beautiful  sentiments  expressed. 

The  wording  of  the  Testimonial,  signed  by  all  members  of  the  present 
Executive  Committee,  is  as  follows: 

"By  the  good  hand  of  our  God  upon  him,  our  beloved  brother, 
William  B.  Jacobs,  has  been  enabled  to  complete  twenty-five  years 
of  continuous  service  as  the  General  Secretary  of  the  Illinois  Sunday 
School  Association. 

HIS  connection  with  organized  Sunday  School  work  spans  a 
period  during  which  great  changes  have  been  wrought,  great  ad- 
vances made,  great  triumphs  won  for  our  King;  and  with  these 
he  has  been  vitally  linked. 

THE  completion  of  our  system  of  township  and  county  organ- 
ization, and  the  development  of  our  Primary,  Temperance,  Teacher- 
Training,  Home,  and  Adult  Departments  have  demanded  and 
received  his  constant  attention  and  wise  leadership. 

TO  the  great  movements  for  wider  and  better  study  of  God's 
Word  and  the  extension  of  the  Master's  Kingdom — in  other  States, 
over  the  Western  continents,  in  lands  beyond  the  Seas — to  all  he  has 


47 


given  unsparingly  of  heart  and  hand,  and  by  voice  and  pen  has  co- 
operated effectively  with  others  engaged  in  advance  Sunday  School 
work  throughout  the  World. 

THROUGH  personal  contact  and  correspondence  with  Sunday- 
School  workers  in  every  part  of  the  State,  by  his  public  addresses, 
by  his  opening  of  the  Word,  by  his  constant  helpfulness,  our  brother 
has  been  used  in  leading  men  and  women  into  larger  and  better 
Christian  service,  in  giving  new  cheer  to  the  discouraged,  in  raising 
the  Sunday  School  work  of  Illinois  to  a  high  standard. 

HIS  clear  vision  of  God  "has  oft  refreshed  us:"  his  love  for 
and  trust  in  the  Master  and  devotion  to  His  Truth  have  inspired  us ; 
every  worker  in  the  State  has  shared  in  the  uplift  he  has  been 
permitted  to  impart. 

HIS  fellow  workers  recognize  gratefully  the  faithfulness  and 
efficiency  with  which  Brother  Jacobs  has  wrought  through  this 
quarter  century,  and  here  record  our  loving  appreciation  of  his  wise 
and  helpful  ministrv." 

A.  H.  Mills.  H.  0.  Stone. 

F.  A.  Wells.  H.  T.  Lay. 

L.  B.  Vose.  A.  M.  Kenney. 

H.  R.  Clissold.  C.  M.  Parker! 

John  Farson.  H.  M.  Bannen. 

T.    N.    Pitkin.  W.  S.  Rearick. 

C.  H.  Ireland.  W.  B.  Rundle. 

E.  H.  Nichols. 

This  is  followed  by  the  names  of  all  members  of  the  State  Executive 

Committee  during  the  years  1883  to  1908 : 


B.  F.  Jacobs. 
M.  C.  Hazard. 
A.  G.  Tyng. 
Phillip  G.  Gillett. 
J.  R.  Mason. 
Thomas  S.  Ridgeway 
T.  B.  Nisbett. 
Chas.  M.  Morton. 

E.  A.  Wilson. 
E.  D.  Durham. 
William  Tracy. 
R.  C.  Willis. 

C.  W.  Jerome. 
H.  T.  Lay. 
William  Reynolds. 
T.  H.  Perrin. 

R.  W.  Hare. 
John  Benham. 
IKnox    P.    Taylor. 


P.  R,  Danley. 

L.  A.  Trowbridge. 

H.  M.  Hamill. 

C.  F.  Houghton. 
J.  R.  Gorin. 

R.  H.  Griffith. 
G.  W.  Barnett. 
Frank  Wilcox. 

D.  B.  Parkinson. 
W.  S.  Rearick. 
Geo.  L.  Vance. 
T.  M.  Eckley. 
H.  M.  Read. 
Henry  Augustine. 
J.  W.  Hart. 

G.  R,  Shawhan. 
J.  R.  Harker. 
C.  M.  Hotchkin. 

E.  A.  McDonald. 


H.  R.  Clissold. 
Henry  Moser. 
0.  W.  Schell. 
A.  H.  Mills. 
A.  M.  Kenney. 

C.  M  Parker. 
John  Farson. 
J.  B.  Joy. 

W.  B.  Rundle. 

E.  H.  Nichols. 
H.  0.  Stone. 

D.  0.  Coe. 

F.  A.  Wells. 
C.  C.  Miles. 
C.  H.  Ireland. 
H.  M.  Bannen. 
T.  N.  Pitkin. 
L.  B.  Vose. 


48 

Last  of  all  are  the  names  of  those  who  have  been  associated  with 
the  General  Secretary  as  paid  workers  of  the  State  Association  during 
the  years  1883  to  1908. 

E.  0.  Excell.      .  H.  M.  Steidley. 

Lucy  Rider  Meyer.  Mrs.  Edith  V.  Northrop. 

Harry  A.  Burnham.  Mrs.  M.  S.     Lamoreaux. 

Mary  I.  Bragg.  Mrs.  Mary  F.  Bryner. 

Arthur  W.  Eider.  Mrs.  Herbert  L.  Hill. 

H.  M.  Hamill.  Charles  E.  Schenck. 

I.  M.  Philips  A.  T.  Arnold. 

W.  C.  Pearce.  Henry  Moser. 

G.  W.  Miller.  Mrs.  Howard  M.   Leyda. 

T.  B.  Standen.  Everett  E.  Johnson. 

R.  E.  Hall.  Mrs.  Mamie  Gordon  Clayton. 
Knox  P.  Taylor 

PRESENTATION  ADDRESS. 

(W.  C.  Pearce.) 
Mr.  Chairman  and  Members  of  the  Convention: 

This  afternoon  our  beloved  General  Secrtary  of  the  International 
Sunday  School  Association,  Mr.  Marion  Lawrence  is  to  arrive.  One 
Sunday  in  his  Sunday-school,  some  years  ago,  he  spoke  a  certain  message 
in  regard  to  the  value  of  the  appreciation  of  those  who  are  trying  to  do 
God's  work.  The  next  morning,  when  he  went  to  his  office,  he  found  a 
white  rosebud  tied  to  the  door-knob,  to  which  was  attached  this  little 
verse  of  poetry : 

"Better  to  buy  a  cheap  bouquet, 

And  give  to  your  friend  this  very  day, 

Than  a  bushel  of  roses  white  and  red, 

To  put  on  his  coffin  when  he  is  dead." 

In  the  name  of  the  Executive  Committee,  and  in  behalf  of  this  great 
host,  I  have  been  made  a  messenger  to  carry  a  bouquet.  It  is  not  a 
cheap  bouquet.  It  is  for  our  friend  and  brother,  Mr.  Jacobs.  It  is 
not  cheap,  but  it  is  rare  and  rich.  It  is  rare  because  it  has  taken  twenty- 
five  years  to  grow  the  flowers  that  are  in  it.  It  is  rich  because  of  the 
variety  of  flowers  it  contains.  I  cannot  name  them  all,  my  brother,  but 
I  will  name  four  of  them.  One  is  Gratitude.  We  are  thankful  that 
you  were  born.  We  are  thankful  to  your  Christian  mother  whom  we 
never  knew,  and  to  your  Christian  father  whom  through  you  we  have 
come  to  love.  We  are  glad  you  were  born  again  in  the  faith  of  our 
Lord;  we  are  glad  you  came  to  live  in  Illinois;  we  are  glad  that  our 
Father  called  you  to  this  work;  and  we  are  glad  that  you  have  been 
spared  through  these  many  years. 

Another  flower  in  this  bouquet  is  the  flower  of  Memory.  Many 
times  we  have  forgotten,  but  there  are  many  things  we  remember.  We 
recall  this  morning  that  when  you  began  your  work  many  counties  were 
only  organized  on  paper.  We  recall  that  your  writing  desk  for  a  long 
time  was  your  knee,  and  it  was  on  the  field  of  battle.  We  recall  that  the 


49 

first  years  of  your  service  not  even  your  whole  traveling  expenses  were 
paid.  We  recall  the  dark  valleys  through  which  you  traveled  to  the 
hilltops  to  which  you  have  led  us.  This  is  a  sweet  flower  in  this  bouquet. 
We  cherish  it  in  our  thought  as  we  give  it  to  you,  and  we  expect  to  hand 
it  down  to  our  children.  I  expect  to  teach  my  boy,  and,  if  I  live,  to  teach 
my  grand-children,  to  love  your  name  and  your  memory. 

Another  flower  in  this  bouquet  is  Confidence.  We  have  had  to  grow 
this  flower,  and  the  longer  it  has  grown  the  stronger  it  has  become.  We 
have  learned  to  trust  you  because  we  know  you  trust  our  Lord,  and  your 
faith  is  anchored  in  His  Word.  We  have  followed  you  through  battles, 
but  always  to  victory;  sometimes  through  difficult  places,  but  always  to 
see  the  face  of  our  Lord. 

The  last  flower  I  shall  mention  in  this  bouquet  is  the  flower  of  love. 
We  have  learned  to  love  you  more  and  more  as  the  years  have  gone  by. 
When  we  have  been  in  the  shadow,  you  have  stood  with  us  and  made  it 
lighter ;  when  we  have  been  under  burdens,  you  have  gotten  under  them 
and  made  them  easier;  when  we  have  been  in  the  valley,  you  have  walked 
with  us  and  led  us  to  the  higher  places.  We  cannot  describe  our  love. 
It  is  greater  than  words  can  paint.  Because  of  these  flowers,  I  say  this 
bouquet  is  rare.  These  are  not  cut  flowers,  soon  to  wither  and  to  pass 
away,  but  they  are  living  flowers,  to  grow  through  many  years  to  'come. 

Our  committee,  knowing  how  difficult  it  is  to  describe  a  bouquet  and 
to  keep  flowers,  has  had  a  word  painter  paint  a  picture  of  this  bouquet, 
and  ask  me  to  try  to  give  it  you. 

In  the  name  of  the  Executive  Committee,  and  in  behalf  of  the 
Illinois  Sunday-school  Avorkers,  this  right  hand  of  mine  never  more  cheer- 
fully did  anything  than  to  present  to  you  this  token  of  our  love. 

Following  the  remarks  of  Mr.  Pearce  the  large  audience  arose  and 
tendered  Mr.  Jacobs  a  Chautauqua  salute. 

RESPONSE  TO  PRESENTATION  ADDRESS. 

MR.  JACOBS :  In  June,  1880,  I  closed  out  my  business  and  went 
to  London  to  attend  the  Robert  Raikes  Sunday  School  Centennial.  I 
had  not  a  dollar  in  the  bank;  I  had  a  wife  and  children  to  care  for, 
and  I  well  remember  as  I  came  back  on  that  ocean  steamer  I  said, 
"What  shall  I  do?"  I  went  to  my  cabin  and  I  said,  "Lord,  what  will 
thou  have  me  to  do  ?  I  will  do  the  first  thing  You  give  me  to  do,  and 
without  any  conditions ;  I  will  go  where  You  send  me  and  take  what  You 
give  me  and  be  satisfied."  I  came  home  and  attended  a  number  of 
county  Sunday  School  conventions  in  Illinois  that  fall,  and  in  December 
of  that  year  the  Cook  County  Executive  Committee  said,  "We  want  you 
to  go  into  this  Sunday-school  work."  They  sent  the  president  to  my 
house  to  lay  the  matter  before  me  for  I  was  sick  in  bed  at  the  time.  I 
turned  my  face  to  the  wall  and  said  "No,  Lord,  I  cannot  do  this." 
I  told  Him  before  that  I  would  do  whatever  He  said,  but  in  my  heart, 
though  I  did  not  know  it,  I  had  made  up  my  mind  as  to  what  He  should 
say,  and  that  was  that  I  should  be  an  evangelist.  So  I  said,  "I  cannot 
entertain  this  proposition."  The  Lord  kept  me  there  three  weeks  on  my 
— 4  S  S  H 


50 

back.  Day  by  day  I  turned  over  my  face  to  the  wall  saying,  "Lord, 
what  wilt  Thou  have  me  to  do?"  And  the  feeling  grew  stronger  and 
stronger  that  this  was  what  He  wanted  me  to  do.  My  house  was 
mortgaged  for  six  thousand  dollars,  drawing  ten  per  cent  interest,  (six 
hundred  dollars  a  year)  besides  the  education  and  the  support  of  my 
family.  The  committee  offered  me  a  guarantee  of  five  hundred  dollars 
only;  but  the  Voice  said,  "Did  you  say  that  you  would  take  the  thing 
I  gave  you  to  do?"  "I  did,"  "Did  you  say  you  would  take  it  without 
any  conditions?"  "I  did."  "Will  you  do  it?"  "I  will."  And  I  went 
into  the  work.  I  have  never  felt  through  all  the  years  that  I  was 
worthy  of  the  Master  who  called  me  or  the  people  who  loved  me  and 
stood  with  me.  I  have  gone  on  year  after  year  with  bright  cheer  in  my 
path,  with  divine  love  growing  in  my  heart,  with  a  great  desire  for  the 
Sunday-school  work  and  a  great  love  for  the  Sunday-school  workers  of 
Illinois,  seeking  to  do  His  will  as  He  made  it  plain,  and  finding  it  the 
sweetest  thing  in  the  world  to  do  the  Lord's  will.  I  could  not  be  crowned 
with  any  higher  crown,  nor  honored  with  any  greater  joy  from  earth 
than  this  tribute,  this  loving  tribute,  this  beautiful  bouquet  presented  to 
me  in  your  name  by  my  beloved  brother  and  son,  for  I  always  think  he 
is  mine.  I  cannot  ask  any  greater  tribute,  any  greater  honor  from 
above  than  just  the  privilege  of  being  in  the  work. 

During  these  last  years  I  have  felt  that  the  time  is  not  far  distant 
when  I  must  give  up  this  work  and  I  have  turned  to  Him  and  said, 
"Well,  my  Father,  whenever  Thou  are  ready,  whenever  the  work  seems 
hindered  by  my  staying,  whenever  better  work  will  be  done  by  my  going, 
raise  up  the  man  and  put  the  work  in  his  hands;  but  as  You  have  put 
it  in  my  hands  to-day,  give  me  grace  and  wisdom  and  strength  to  do  to- 
day's work  well  and  leave  the  rest  to  Thee."  And  so  I  have  gone  on, 
and  so  I  am  going  on,  and  to-day  I  rejoice  in  His  companionship  and 
friendship  and  in  the  fellowship  and  love  of  this  blessed  company. 

The  Lord  be  with  you  and  bless  you;  the  Lord  cause  His  face  to 
shine  upon  you  and  give  you  peace;  the  Lord  make  you  every  one  a  bless- 
ing to  others,  and  fill  your  own  hearts  with  the  joy  of  His  sweet  love 
and  the  privilege  of  His  high  service.  May  this  new  year  upon  which 
we  have  entered,  with  such  strong  assurance  of  His  presence,  be  the 
year  of  highest  achievement  and  of  greatest  joy  in  His  service;  a  year 
of  in  gathering  of  many  precious  souls ;  and  in  the  Crowning  Day  you  and 
I  will  not  ask  that  the  angel  place  crowns  upon  our  heads,  but  if  he 
does  we  will  cast  the  crowns  at  Jesus'  feet  and  say,  "Thou  are  worthy 
to  receive  all,  for  Thou  didst  love  us  and  Thou  didst  redeem  us  from 
our  sins  by  Thy  precious  blood,  and  Thou  didst  commit  Thy  work  to  our 
hands  and  send  us  forth  with  that  blessed  assurance,  'Lo,  I  am  with  you 
always — all  the  days — even  unto  the  end.'  ' 

I  thank  you  all !  You  do  not  know  my  weaknesses — at  least  you 
seem  blinded  to  them — and  to  my  failures  and  my  haltings.  He  knows, 
and  He  pardons  and  He  strengthens  and  He  sends  me  out  again  cheered 
by  your  love  into  this  blessed  service.  May  God  grant  us  a  year  of  the 
right  hand  of  the  Most  High,  of  sweetest  fellowship  with  each  other  in 


51 

His  service  and  of  the  great  joy  of  seeing  many  others  won  for  the 
kingdom  and  service  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

As  a  token  of  the  high  appreciation  of  the  splendid  service  of  Mr. 
William  B.  Jacobs,  he  was  elected  at  the  Elgin  Convention  in  1912  an 
Honorary  Member  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Illinois  Sunday 
School  Association  for  life,  with  power  to  vote. 

At  the  last  meeting  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  our  State 
association,  held  in  Chicago  November  28,  the  following  splendid  and 
eloquent  tribute  was  paid  to  the  retiring  General  Secretary,  the  reso- 
lutions being  adopted  by  unanimous  vote. 

"Our  dear  brother,  William  B.  Jacobs,  on  November  15th  com- 
pleted twenty-nine  years  of  faithful,  loving  and  efficient  service  as  Gen- 
eral Secretary  of  the  Illinois  Sunday  School  Association.  He  has  ten- 
dered and  this  Executive  Committee  has  accepted  his  resignation  as 
General  Secretary  to  take  effect  January  1,  1912,  or  as  soon  thereafter 
as  Mr.  Hugh  Cork,  his  successor,  can  close  his  work  with  the  Inter- 
national Sunday  School  Association. 

"Mr.  Jacobs  has  passed  the  seventy-second  milestone  in  life's  great 
highway,  and  will  lay  aside  the  great  responsibility  of  his  office  and  give 
life's  gloaming  to  touching  and  inspiring  workers  in  the  wider  field, 
as  strength  will  merit. 

"The  Sunday  School  work  in  this  State  has  wonderfully  developed 
and  grown  under  his  wise,  devoted  and  consecrated  leadership.  He  laid 
its  foundation  deep,  strong  and  enduring.  His  trained  men  and  women 
are  doing  uplifting  and  aggressive  service,  not  only  in  this  State,  but 
also  in  every  state,  territory  and  province  of  North  America — yea,  even 
in  foreign  lands. 

"During  all  these  years  he  has  stood  with  his  right  hand  in  the  Hand 
of  Our  God  and  his  left  hand  reaching  down  and  around  the  humblest 
home  in  the  farthest  corner  of  our  Father's  vast  estate — the  unchoked 
channel  and  the  ungrounded  current  of  right  blessing  and  uplifting 
power  to  needy  humanity.  He  has  saturated  his  life  with  the  Bible  truth 
and  God  has  greatly  honored  His  servant.  He  has  literally  walked  and 
talked  with  God.  Twenty-nine  years  of  such  service  !  What  a  life-crown 
'twill  be! 

"It  is  with  deep  regret  that  the  great  host  of  Sunday  School  workers 
of  Illinois  sever  the  tie  that  has  bound  our  dear  brother  to  us  for  almost 
a  generation,  but  we  rejoice  in  the  strength  of  character  and  Christ-like 
nature  that  has  enabled  him  to  place  the  Master's  work  above  himself 
and  Elijah-like,  is  saying  to  dear  Brother  Cork — his  son  in  this  great  work 
and  his  successor,  to  this  committee  and  to  every  worker  in  this  great 
•State  "Ask  what  I  shall  do  for  thee,  before  I  am  taken  from  thee." 

"May  the  deepest  desire  and  prayer  of  all  our  hearts  be  that  a  double 
portion  of  his  spirit  of  loyalty,  of  consecration,  of  fidelity,  of  faith, 
of  prayer  and  of  power  with  God  and  with  men,  abide  upon  each  of  us ; 
and  our  prayer  for  you,  dear  brother,  is  this : 


52 

"The  Lord  bless  thee,  and  keep  thee ; 

The  Lord  make  His  face  to  shine  upon  thee, 

And  be  gracious  unto  thee ; 

The  Lord  lift  up  His  countenance  upon  thee, 

and  give  thee  peace." 

"For  many  years  there  has  been  the  closest  relationship  existing  be- 
tween Mr.  Jacobs  and  Mr.  Cork,  like  father  and  son,  and  Mr.  Jacobs 
rejoices  with  our  Association  that  we  have  secured  such  a  tried,  true, 
strong,  capable  and  efficient  man  as  Mr.  Cork  for  the  new  General 
Secretary  of  Illinois." 

DECATUR,  October  4, 1911. 
Mr.  HUGH  CORK, 

Assistant  International  S.  8.  Secretary,  Chicago,  Illinois. 
DEAR  BROTHER  CORK  :     You  have  learned  ere  this  of  the  resignation 
of  Brother  W.   B.  Jacobs,  for  almost  a  generation  our  beloved  and 
efficient  General  Secretary.     He  did  a  great  work  for  God  and  humanity. 
His  succesor  must  do  a  greater  work. 

Our  committee  have  sought  to 'find  the  man  whom  the  master  has 
had  in  training  as  Mr.  Jacobs'  successor;  one  great  in  heart,  in  hand,  in 
training,  and  in  personality — one  whom  we  believe  will  be  able,  under 
our  Lord's  direction,  to  bring  the  Sunday  Schools  of  our  cities,  towns 
and  country-sides  together  with  all  the  Denominations  interested  therein, 
into  one  mighty,  intense,  aggressive,  intelligent  consecrated  and  irre- 
sistible power  for  righteousness  in  the  saving  and  keeping  of  the  child- 
hood, womanhood  and  manhood  of  Illinois  for  Christ. 

With  the  election  of  our  dear  Brother  Fred  A.  Wells  as  Chairman  of 
the  Executive  Committee  of  the  International  Sunday  School  Association 
and  the  concentration  in  this  State  of  the  International  and  the  World's 
Sunday  School  headquarters,  with  the  next  International  Convention  to 
be  held  in  Chicago,  in  1914,  it  places  a  great  responsibility  upon  the 
Illinois  Sunday  School  Association. 

Our  committee  believes  that  "you  are  chosen  of  the  Lord"  for  this 
great  work  and  we  hereby  tender  you  the  position  as  General  Secretary 
of  our  State  Association,  at  the  same  salary  that  you  are  now  receiving, 
hereby  pledging  you  our  enthusiastic  and  united  cooperation  and  the 
loyal  support  of  the  thousands  of  Illinois  Sunday  School  workers,  that  to- 
gether we  may  so  serve  as  to  fully  do  the  Master's  will. 

We,  therefore,  pray  that  you  will  consider  this  a  call  from  Him 
"whose  we  are  and  whom  we  serve." 

Your  Friend,  A.  H.  MILLS, 
Chairman  and  in  behalf  of  the  Execu- 
tive Committee  of  the  Illinois  Sun- 
day School  Association." 

CHICAGO,  October  IS,  1911. 

"DEAR  Mr.  MILLS:  Your  letter  of  October  4  was  duly  received, 
but  it  contained  a  matter  of  such  importance  to  myself  and  the  cause  to 
which  I  have  consecrated  my  life  that  I  felt  a  reply  must  be  delayed  until 


53 

I  could  be  sure  I  was  moving  in  the  direction  which  will  be  according  to 
the  will  of  Him,  whose  I  am  and  whom  I  serve. 

It  was  truly  a  surprise  to  me  to  learn  that  your  Committee  had 
decided  I  was  the  one  chosen  to  follow  Brother  Jacobs.  There  surely 
is  no  other  General  Secretary  whose  work  I  would  rather  follow  up. 
But  there  are  interests  in  this  larger  field  which  had  to  be  carefully  con- 
sidered. 

Now,  after  careful  and  prayerful  consideration  of  all  that  this  change 
involves;  after  taking  into  my  counsel  kinsfolk  and  friends  near  and 
dear  to  me;  after  seeking  advice  from  the  splendid  company  of  officials 
under  whom  and  with  whom  I  have  labored  with  such  delightful  fellow- 
ship, it  seems  clear  to  me  that  my  Heavenly  Father  desires  me  to 
become  your  General  Secretary,  to  take  up  my  new  work  January  1,  or 
as  soon  thereafter  as  matters  can  be  arranged  with  the  International 
Association. 

Although  not  worthy  to  assume  an  Elisha  position,  yet  trusting  the 
mantle  of  our  Elijah  may  fall  upon  me  as  I  try  to  be  your  executive 
leader,  I  am 

Most  cordially,  HUGH  CORK/' 

Mr.  W.  B.  Jacobs,  while  on  his  way  to  his  office,  on  Wednesday  morn- 
ing July  16,  1913,  was  run  over  by  a  street  car  and  so  seriously  injured 
that  he  passed  away  at  eleven  o'clock.  The  news,  of  his  tragic  death 
spread  rapidly  and  the  messages  of  love  began  to  pour  into  the  stricken 
family  and  the  association  office. 

"Strange  we  never  prize  the  music 
Till  the  sweet-voiced  bird  has  flown." 

Dr.  H.  M.  Hamill  wrote  of  Mr.  Jacobs  in  substance:  I  began  my 
Sunday-school  service  in  1888  with  W.  B.  Jacobs  and  the  golden  cord 
that  bound  us  at  the  start  long  ago  became  a  cable  so  strong 'that,  a  hun- 
dred deaths  cannot  sunder.  It  was  nothing  to  him  when  or  how  he  died. 
As  Miss  Bragg,  his  secretary  wrote,  "If  anyone  should  say  why  is  his 
body  thus  broken,"  he  would  be  quick  to  answer,  '"Was  it  not  so  with  my 
Lord?' 

I  have  known  and  labored  with  most  of  the  great  pioneers  of 
American  Sunday  School  work  of  the  past  generation,  but  not  one  of  them 
did  a  greater  work,  if  indeed,  so  great  as  did  W.  B.  Jacobs.  First  his 
was  a  life  long  Sunday-school  career,  that  essayed  and  succeeded  in  every 
department  of  Sunday  School  endeavor.  He  grew  in  Sunday  School 
grace  and  knowledge  to  his  last  day  and  kept  at  it  tirelessly  and  opti- 
mistically as  no  other  man,  not  even  his  great  and  much  honored  brother. 
Others  were  generals,  with  drums  and  trumpets  sounding  mighty  calls  to 
battle.  He  was  the  indomitable  fighter  in  the  ranks,  caring  only  for  a 
hard  fight  and  a  sure  victory  for  Jesus  Christ  and  his  Sunday  School. 

He  tried  organization,  and  made  Illinois  the  finest  sample  of  an 
organized  Sunday  School  State.  He  tried  Sunday  School  methods,  and 
for  a  quarter  of  a  century  great  Chicago  has  found  inspiration  and  ex- 
altation in  his  "Loyal  Honor"  plan.  He  tried  Teacher  Training  side  by 
side  with  Hamill  and  for  twelve  years  the  two  were  "Siamese  twins"  in 

' 


54 

breaking  down  ministerial  and  churchly  indifference.  He  had  no  rest  for 
mind,  body,  or  spirit  in  his  long  ministry.  When  barred  by  ill  health 
from  the  field,  he  made  his  office  a  dynamo  of  inspiration  and  instruction 
through  thousands  of  personal  letters.  Dear  old  comrade,  he  had  plenty 
of  gray  matter  in  his  brain  and  red  blood  in  his  heart.  As  a  Sunday- 
school  pioneer  he  was  indeed  great,  but  he  was  greater  as  a  fine  old-fash- 
ioned Christian  gentleman  who  lived  a  noble  life,  wrought  a  peerless  and 
abiding  work,  and  went  swift  to  heaven.  If  some  of  us  find  life  lonelier 
and  steps  more  faltering,  it  is  because  we  loved  and  miss  him." 

Miss  Mary  I.  Bragg,  his  assistant  for  twenty-seven  years,  missed  him 
more  keenly  than  any  other  person,  outside  of  his  immediate  relatives. 
The  supreme  motive  of  his  life  was  love.  His  first  desire  was  to  please 
God ;  his  second  to  help  others,  and  the  secret  of  his  life  of  usefulness  and 
helpfulness  was  in  his  constant,  living  communion  with  God.  In  all  the 
years  of  his  Sunday  School  work,  I  am  sure  there  never  was  a  day,  no 
matter  how  crowded  with  many  duties,  that  he  did  not  take  time  first  for 
his  hour  of  prayer  and  Bible  study.  He  was  always  doing  good,  helping, 
comforting,  and  making  some  one  happy.  His  friendship  has  been  one 
of  the  greatest  blessing  of  my  life.  He  gave  me  the  impulse,  the  trend, 
and  the  inspiration  in  the  service  which  has  bcome  such  a  part  of  my 
life.  What  he  did  for  me  he  has  done  for  countless  others.  *  *  * 

Mr.  Owen  Scott  said  of  Mr.  Jacobs :  "W.  B.  Jacobs  is  dead !  Can 
it  be  so?  The  answer  came,  no.  Though  dead,  he  yet  liveth.  His  heart 
throbs  in  every  valley,  hill  and  plain  of  Illinois  in  the  lives  transformed 
through  his  persuasive,  sweet  and  God-like  influence  in  the  Sunday 
School.  Knowing  first,  very  intimately,  his  great  brother,  B.  F.  Jacobs, 
I  was  fully  prepared  to  be  led  by  our  absent  one  into  the  paths  of  service 
for  the  Master.  Hi?  tragic  death  brought  a  shock  to  all,  but  the  peaceful 
flight  of  his  sweet  soul  into  eternal  rest  and  refreshment  in  the  paradise  of 
God  came  as  the  sweet  compensation  for  his  violent  translation. 

The  workers  of  Illinois  will  miss  "the  touch  of  a  vanished  hand," 
and  will  not  again  hear  "the  sound  of  a  voice  that  is  still/'  Yet,  his 
spirit  will  ever  hover  over  and  be  interwoven  into  the  sublime  in  which  he 
so  long  served." 

DR.  HOWARD  M.  HAMILL  was  born  at  Lowndesboro.  Alabama, 
August  10,  1847.  He  died  January  21,  1915,  and  was  laid  to  rest  at 
Mexico,  Mo.  While  yet  a  boy,  he  left  school  to  enter  the  service  of  the 
Confederacy  in  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  and  marched  and  fought 
under  General  Lee  until  the  surrender  at  Appomattox.  He  returned  home 
at  the  close  of  the  War  and  entered  Alabama  College  at  Auburn,  from 
which  institution  he  was  graduated  in  1868.  Soon  after  this  he  was 
married  to  Miss  Gertrude  Dillar,  who  lived  only  a  few  years.  From 
1868  to  1885  Dr.  Hamill  was  engaged  in  teaching  in  Missouri  and  Illi- 
nois. Hon.  William  Jennings  Bryan  was  one  of  his  pupils.  In  1885 
he  was  married  to  Miss  Ada  L.  Tuman  of  Jacksonville,  111.  In  the 
latter  year  he  was  licensed  as  a  preacher  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  and  joined  the  Illinois  Conference  in  which  he  continued  to  hold 
membership  until  1901. 

As  a  pastor,  he  was  actively  and  intelligently  interested  in  Sunday- 
school  work,  and  because  of  his  exceptional  ability  as  a  Sunday  School 


55 

leader  there  soon  came  about  a  large  demand  for  his  services  outside  of 
the  bounds  of  his  own  pastoral  charge.  This  demand  at  length  became 
so  constant  and  insistant  that  he  was  compelled  to  face  the  question  as  to 
whether  the  Sunday  Schools  were  not  his  real  field  of  service.  His 
natural  taste  and  aptitudes  rendered  an  affirmative  decision  inevitable. 
In  1889  he  organized  the  First  Normal  Department  of  the  Illinois  Sun- 
day-school Association  and  became  its  first  superintendent.  In  this 
position  he  served  until  1899,  when  he  was  elected  by  the  Atlanta 
Convention  Field  Secretary  of  the  International  Sunday  School  Asso- 
ciation. This  position  he  resigned  to  become  superintendent  of  the- 
Teacher  Training  Department  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South, 
in  which  capacity  he  served  with  conspicuous  ability  and  success  through- 
out the  entire  South  until  the  close  of  his  life.  During  all  of  this  time- 
he  was  a  member  of  the  International  Executive  Committee  from  Tenn- 
essee. 

At  the  State  Convention  in  1907  Dr.  H.  M.  Hamill  said : 
"I  do  not  know  when  I  shall  have  the  privilege  of  standing  before 
another  Illinois  convention.  I  want  to  tell  you  something  of  the  Sun- 
day-school workers  who  have  touched  me  life-long.  One  of  them  is  an 
old  woman;  she  is  eighty-eight  years  old;  she  is  in  Birmingham,  Ala- 
bama tonight.  She  reads  everything  that  is  readable.  She  sits  at  my 
side  and  converses  with  me  about  the  poets  and  the  scientists.  I  venture 
to  say  that  she  has  read  every  line  about  the  Peace  Congress.  She  is: 
an  admirer  of  President  Boosevelt  She  knew  his  mother  in  Old' 
Georgia.  She  is  Georgia  born  and  bred.  She  is  my  mother.  She  has 
been  my  sweetheart  ever  since  I  was  a  baby.  She  has  been  an  influence 
all  my  life  in  Sunday-schools  ways.  Now  and  then  when  I  go  to  see- 
her  she  puts  her' arms  around  me  and  says.,  "Don't  get  tired;  you  are 
doing  a  great  work."  *  *  * 

I  remember  the  preacher-boys  I  used  to  have  charge  of  in  the  Illi- 
nois Conference,  some  of  whom  are  here  to  night.  I  recall  how  I  quit  the. 
public  school-room  and  went  into  a  Methodist  Conference  and  became  a 
Methodist  preacher  on  one  of  the  hard  circuits  of  the  Conference.  I 
remember  how  those  boys  stood  by  me  but  also  how,  when  I  went  into' 
Sunday-school  work,  a  presiding  elder  said:  "You  have  side-tracked 
yourself  by  taking  up  Sundaj'-school  work;  you  have  put  yourself  out- 
pido  the  sympathies  and  affections  of  your  brethren  in  doing  that."  1 
said,  "I  have  done  what  God  called  me  to  do ;  I  have,  no  tears  to  shed, 
and  perhaps  you  are  a  false  prophet."  A  few  years  later  the  Illinois 
Conference,  and  especially  those  hundred  young  men  who  had  been  under 
me  in  the  Conference  Course  of  study,  by  the  largest  vote  ever  given  in 
the  seventy-five  years  of  the  Conference,  elected  me  to  the  leadership  in 
the  General  Conference  delegation,  the  greatest  honor  I  ever  received.  It 
came  chiefly  from  the  hands  of  young  men,  some  of  whom,  like  Clear- 
waters  and  others,  are  sitting  about  me  in  this  convention. 

,  As  my  last  word  permit  me  to  speak  briefly  of  two  men  by  the  name 
of  Jacobs,  one  in  heaven  and  one  on  earth.  They  are  men,  not  angels. 
I  want  to  tell  you  that  no  man  is  capable  of  sitting  down  and  writing 
out  the  value  of  the  services  of  these  men,  which  for  so  many  years  they 
have  rendered  under  God  to  the  State  of  Illinois.  I  am  sorry  for  any 


56 

of  you  if  you  have  not  begun  to  find  the  place  of  appreciation  in  your 
hearts  for  the  two  men  that  God  has  seen  fit  to  put  as  leaders  in  this 
State.  Illinois  has  a  vast  deal  to  be  thankful  for  and  to  be  responsible 
for  in  a  Sunday-school  way.  I  will  never  forget  B.  F.  Jacobs,  putting 
his  arm  about  me,  and  cheering  me  on  during  the  fifteen  years  I  served 
under  him.  I  will  never  forget  great  and  gentle  and  good  William 
Reynolds.  I  say  this  last  word  of  these  and  other  men  I  have  laborecl 
with  and  not  the  least  of  the  company  is  Excell  himself.  The  "Old 
Guard"  is  passing,  and  he  and  I  and  W.  B.  Jacobs  are  part  of  it,  and 
proud  of  the  fact.  So  are  Rearick,  and  Perrin,  and  Story,  and  Mills 
and  Lay,  and  the  sainted  Hare  who  was  treasurer  so  long,  and  all  those 
fine  Soldiers  of  Christ — the  roll  is  too  long  for  me  to  call  it  tonight." 

In  the  Chicago  Convention  in  1914  he  was  elected  president  of  the 
International  Sunday-school  Association  and  a  member  of  the  Inter- 
national Lesson  Committee. 

In  1907-8  he  and  Mrs.  Hamill  made  a  tour  of  the  Orient,  speaking 
in  Japan,  China,  and  Korea  in  the  interest  of  Sunday  School  work.  Dr. 
Hamill  was  a  prolific  author  as  well  as  a  teacher  and  organizer  of  great 
ability..  Among  his  books  that  have  a  wide  circulation  are:  The 
Legion  of  Honor,  Teacher-Training  Lessons,  The  Sunday  School 
Teacher,  International  Lessons  History,  and  The  Bible  and  Its  Books. 

At  Lake  Geneva  Teacher  Training  School  a  memorial  building  has 
been  dedicated  to  the  memory  of  Dr.  Hamill.  A  fine  tribute  to  an 
efficient  and  great  Teacher. 

Dr.  Hamill  was  a  pioneer  in  modern  Sunday-school  work.  He  was 
a  man  of  clear  vision  and  a  remarkably  effective  teacher.  Perhaps  no 
other  man  of  his  generation  had  a  wider  influence  in  the  field  of  religious 
education. 

MAJOR  D.  W.  WHITTLE  was  a  well  known  evangelist,  and  was 
president  of  the  Association  in  1874  at  Champaign.  He  was  a  choice 
spirit  Thousands  of  people  thank  God  that  he  was  born.  He  was 
loyal  and  true  to  every  trust  committed  to  him.  He  heard  the  Master's 
call  on  March  4,  1901,  in  East  Northfield,  Mass,  and  loyally  said  "Yes 
Lord."  He  was  intimately  associated  with  Mr.  Moody  and  with  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  P.  P.  Bliss,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  James  McGranahan,  and  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  George  C.  Stebbins,  all  of  whom  have  rendered  valuable  service  to 
our  association. 

He  recruited  the  72d  Regiment  of  Illinois  Volunteers,  and  entered 
the  Army.  He  was  wounded  at  Vicksburg,  but  after  a  brief  leave  of 
absence  he  returned  to  the  field,  and  was  appointed  on  the  staff  of  Major 
General  0.  0.  Howard  and  served  till  the  close  of  the  war.  In  the  army 
he  was  known  as  a  devout  and  earnest  Christian,  one  who  exerted  a 
powerful  influence  over  others.  Returning  to  Chicago  he  entered  the 
employ  of  the  Elgin  Watch  Company  and  so  efficient  did  he  become 
that  his  salary  was  raised  to  five  thousand  dollars  per  annum.  He  'was 
superintendent  of  the  Tabernacle  Mission  Sunday  School  and  proved 
a  great  success.  In  1874  on  the  appeal  of  Mr.  Moody,  Major  Whittle 
resigned  his  business  position  and  devoted  all  his  time  to  evangelistic 
work.  He  became  associated  with  Mr.  P.  P.  Bliss  and  together  they 


Oi 

preached  and  sang  the  Gospel  until  the  death  of  Mr.  Bliss  in  December, 
1876.  He  wrote  some  of  our  best  loved  songs,  as,  "There  shall  be 
Showers  of  Blessing,"  "The  Crowning  Day  is  Coming,"  "I  Know  Whom 
I  have  Believed"  and  "Moment  by  Moment." 

CHAELES  M.  MORTON"  was  elected  President  of  our  Association 
in  1879  at  Bloomington.  He  was  one  of  the  early  pioneers  in  our  State 
and  a  man  of  strong  convictions  and  a  tender  heart.  He  was  an  indom- 
itable worker  and  was  ready  at  all  times  to  lend  a  hand  to  any  one  need- 
ing the  help  that  he  could  render.  He  made  friends  wherever  he  went 
and  once  his  friend,  always  his  friend,  for  his  Christian  manhood  was 
of  a  type  that  the  Master  accompanied  him  wherever  he  went.  He  ren- 
dered a  great  service  to  the  Sunday  School  cause  of  this  State.  His 
Christian  life  began  in  the  Sunday  School.  At  the  Convention  in  Alton 
in  1885,  he  was  asked  to  respond  on  behalf  of  the  Association  to  the 
Address  of  Welcome  and  in  response  said  in  part :  "I  was  once  in  charge 
of  the  brethren  and  we  had  gone  down  and  had  quite  a  nice  little  gather- 
ing. I  had  talked  all  the  forenoon  and  1  was  about  tired  out  at  twelve 
o'clock  when  we  adjourned ;  and  an  old  lady,  just  as  fat  as  she  could  be, 
came  down  with  her  arms  wide  open  and  says,  "Bro.  Morton,  aren't  you 
a  Methodist?"  I  said  no,  I  am  sorry  I  am  not  a  Methodist,  only  a 
Christian."  And  she  turned  around  and  went  up  the  aisle  as  fast  as 
she  could  and  I  have  never  seen  her  since.  My  undenominationalism 
that  day  came  mighty  near  making  me  lose  my  dinner.  I  am  glad  to  see 
you  get  a  little  enthusiastic.  Let  us  get  full  of  it.  Let  us  get  full  of 
this  good  air  full  of  these  good  things,  and  full  of  real  religious  en- 
thusiasm. Some  Christians  remind  me  of  an  Irishman  in  New  Jersey 
that  I  once  heard  of.  He  heard  his  mistress  say  that  she  liked  turtle 
soup,  and  he  went  out  and  found  a  turtle  and  killed  it  as  he  supposed, 
and  then  brought  it  up  and  presented  it  to  her.  All  at  once  the  old 
turtle  began  to  show  very  decided  signs  of  life;  "Why,"  said 'she,  "I 
thought  Pat,  you  said  he  was  dead."  "In  faith,  ma'am,  he  is,  but  he 
isn't  conscious  of  it."  Once  in  awhile  we  see  that.  Once  in  awhile  we 
hear  a  man  preach,  and  we  say,  "He  is  dead,  but  he  isn't  conscious  of  it." 
Walking  in  his  sleep ;  dead,  and  not  conscious  of  it !  I  think  that  is  one 
reason  why  we  love  this  State  Association  work  so  much,  is  that  it  has 
taken  all  of  the  want  and  vitality  out  of  us,  filled  us  with  enthusiasm, 
taught  us  that  one  is  our  Master,  even  Christ,  and  that  we  all  are 
brethren.  And  so,  unitedly  and  earnestly,  and  lovingly  we  accept  the 
welcome  so  freely  given." 

DE.  CHEISTOPHEE  E,  BLACKALL  was  born  in  Albany,  New 
York,  in  1830,  and  spent  the  early  years  of  his  life  in  that  city.  Choos- 
ing medicine  as  his  profession  he  was  graduated  from  Eush  Medical 
College  and  for  a  time  was  in  active  practice.  During  the  Civil  War 
he  was  for  two  years  surgeon  of  the  33rd  Begiment  of  Wisconsin  Vol- 
unteers. After  his  army  experience  he  returned  to  Chicago  and  resumed 
his  medical  work. 

In  1865  he  gave  up  the  practice  of  medicine  at  the  earnest  solic- 
itation of  B.  F.  Jacobs  and  J.  H.  Vincent.  His  first  official  position 
as  a  Sunday  School  worker  was  that  of  secretary  of  the  Chicago  Sunday 


58 

School  Union.  In  1866  he  was  promoted  to  be  the  General  Superin- 
tendent of  the  Chicago  Sunday  School  Union,  succeeding  John  H. 
Vincent  in  that  office.  In  1867  he  was  secretary  of  the  Cook  County 
Sunday  School  Association  and  resigned  to  accept  the  secretaryship  of 
the  American  Baptist  Publication  Society  and  in  1868  he  became  the 
western  agent  of  said  Society  in  Chicago,  at  which  time  he  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  New  York  branch  house  in  1879  and  held  that  position 
until  1882,  when  he  was  again  transferred  to  the  headquarters  of  the 
Publication  Society  at  Philadelphia  and  made  editor  of  its  Sunday 
School  periodicals. 

Dr.  Blackall  has  always  been  an  indefatigable  worker.  He  has  had 
under  his  charge  a  large  number  of  periodicals.  The  Baptist  Teacher 
and  various  quarterlies,  and  in  later  years  the  Keystone  Graded  Series. 
In  1884  the  Society  began  the  publication  of  the  Baptist  Superin- 
tendent, a  periodical  for  Sunday-school  superintendents,  and  in  1910, 
at  Dr.  BlackalPs  earnest  insistance  the  Publication  Society  began  the 
issue  of  the  Home  and  Schools  for  special  use  in  the  Home  Department. 
In  all  matters  pertaining  to  progressive  movements  in  the  Sunday-school 
world  Dr.  Blackall  has  invaribly  been  in  the  forefront  and  ready  to  aid 
all  plans  and  methods  adapted  to  make  Sunday  School  work  more 
effective.  To  him,  the  Sunday-school  workers  of  the  Baptist  Church 
are  greatly  indebted,  and  he  is  considered  one  of  the  wisest  and  sanest 
leaders.  His  sympathies  and  efforts  have  not  been  limited  to  his  own 
denomination.  For  many  years  he  has  been  connected  with  the  Inter- 
national Sunday-school  Association.  He  is  one  of  the  oldest  of  the  Old 
Guard,  being  now  about  90  years  young,  and  yet  he  shows  a  vigor  that 
is  remarkable  for  one  of  his  years. 

EEECB  H.  GEIFFITH  was  president  of  our  State  Association  at 
Alton  in  1875.  He  has  heard  the  Master's  voice  "It  is  enough,  come 
up  higher."  He  was  born  in  Wales,  November  5,  1824.  His  father 
was  a  minister  of  the  Independent  faith  in  Wales.  His  father  died 
when  Eeece  was  a  small  lad.  His  mother  thus  left  with  three  small 
children,  he  was  early  in  life  thrown  upon  his  own  resources.  His 
mother  was  a  woman  of  fine  education  and  of  deep  spiritual  power,  and 
these  qualities  were  firmly  fixed  in  the  life  of  her  son,  dominating  his 
entire  life  and  making  him  a  potential  factor  in  the  community.  He 
was  a  tried  and  true  friend  of  the  Sunday  School  cause.  He  had  been 
connected  with  our  State  Association  for  more  than  a  generation,  being 
its  President  in  1875,  and  a  member  of  the  State  Executive  Committee 
for  many  years.  He  was  a  co-worker  with,  and  the  personal  friend  of 
Moody,  Eeynolds,  Vincent  and  the  Jacobs  and  a  host  of  other  loyal 
workers.  He  attended  the  great  conventions  of  Sunday  School  workers, 
State,  International,  and  World.  His  presence  was  felt  in  these  con-' 
vention?.  His  was  a  cheerful,  happy,  bouyant  disposition.  He  caught 
the  sunshine  of  life  and  loved  to  pour  it  into  the  lives  of  others.  He 
was  a  perfect  gentleman,  given  to  hospitality,  and  his  home  was  ever  the 
safe  and  loving  retreat  of  the  Field  Workers,  his  entire  family  joining 
him  in  entertaining  these  servants  of  the  Lord,  and  they  went  out  to  do 
a  better  service  for  the  Master,  by  the  inspiration  and  benediction  they 


59 

obtained  in  this  Christian  home.  He  kept  his  heart  young,  even  in  his 
advancing  age.  The  young  people  loved  and  trusted  him.  He  was 
earnest  and  faithful.  He  did  his  work  well.  He  left  the  imprint  of 
his  Christian  manhood  on  his  State  and  age. 

E.  0.  EXCELL.  Dr.  Hamill  said  of  "The  Old  Guard" :  "Another 
is  the  sweet  singer  who  began  his  career  with  us  many  years  ago,  as 
minstrel  of  the  Old  Guard.  God  bless  Professor  E.  0.  Excell!  And 
you  may  be  sure,  after  fifteen  years  that  he  and  I  spent  together  in 
sacred  comradship,  I  could  not  leave  this  platform  without  saying  my 
last  word  of  one  who  is  nearly  the  link  between  the  Old  Guard  and  the 
Young  Guard  of  Illinois." 

At  the  Convention  at  Streator  in  1883,  our  records  say:  "Prof. 
E.  0.  Excell,  a  stranger  to  the  convention,  was  introduced  as  a  singer 
from  Pennsylvania.  He  pleasantly  replied  that  being  a  stranger,  he 
would  sing  his  experience,  and  in  the  most  wonderful  and  delightful 
manner  sang  the  song,  "He  saved  a  poor  sinner  like  me."  The  effect 
upon  the  audience  was  wonderful,  both  the  matter  of  the  song  and  the 
manner  of  the  singer  being  well  calculated  to  stir  their  hearts."  * 
At  the  close  of  Mr.  Morton's  address,  Mr.  Excell  sang  the  song  "The 
Model  Church."  By  request  he  also  sang,  an  amusing  but  not  inappro- 
priate song,  "Keep  in  the  middle  of  the  road."  He  led  the  convention  in 
singing  "Toi  the  work,  to  the  work,  we  are  servants  of  God."  The  con- 
vention called  for  a  song  and  he  sang  with  wonderful  power  the  song: 
"Jesus'  blood  has  made  me  free;  glory,  glory,  glory."  From  that  day, 
in  1883,  to  this  good  day  this  big  man  with  a  big  loving  heart  has 
been  leading  our  conventions  almost  every  year  since  and  we  hope  he  will 
outlive  Methusaleh  so  he  can  still  lead  the  hosts  of  faithful  Illinois  Sun- 
day School  people  that  will  continue  to  meet  in  Convention  year  on  year 
as  the  centuries  come  and  go.  Mr.  Excell  has  the  happy  faculty  of  keep- 
ing his  audience  in  a  good  humor  and  really  has  them  singing  out  of 
full  hearts  before  they  are  aware  of  it.  He  then  thanks  them  for  sing- 
ing so  well  and  then  assures  them  that  "they  can  do  just  a  little  bit  bet- 
ter" and  under  his  magic  they  do  it.  He  is  not  only  a  composer  of  music 
but  a  publisher.  His  Sunday  School  songs  have  a  charm,  in  fact,  a 
religious  spirit  about  them  to  many  of  us  Sunday  School  people,  that 
many  others  do  not  possess. 

Mr.  Lawrence  in  the  Dixon  Convention  in  1908  spoke  of  Mr.  Excell 
as  follows :  "I  am  glad  to  say  in  an  Illinois  convention,  and  in  the 
presence  of  our  leader  of  song,  and  to  him,  that  the  highest  compliment 
that  has  ever  been  paid  to  me  so  far  as  I  know,  and  the  one  to  which  my 
heart  responds  more  than  to  any  other  thing  that  has  ever  been  done, 
is  the  fact  that  this  beautiful  song  which  you  have  just  been  singing, 
"Do  you  know  the  world  is  dying  for  a  little  bit  of  love?"  has  been 
dedicated  by  Mr.  Excell  to  myself.  I  appreciate  it  very  much.  I 
sometimes  think  that  those  of  us  who  talk  just  say  our  pieces  and  pass  on, 
and  our  voices  are  stilled,  and  no  longer  are  people  helped  even  if  they 
are  helped  while  we  are  here,  by  the  words  we  speak ;  but  these  beautiful 
hyms,  set  apart  for  the  worship  of  God,  for  the  inspiration  of  the  heart 
as  it  reaches  up  towards  Him,  will  live,  and  some  of  them  will  be  sung 


60 

years  and  years  after  our  good  brother  has  gone  to  his  reward.  It  is  a 
great  contribution  to  the  Christian  work  of  the  world  to  write  a  living 
hymn  and.  a  living  tune  for  the  people  to  use  in  the  worship  of  God 
after  the  writer  is  silent." 

When  Mr.  Excell  first  went  into  Southern  Illinois  a  short  time  after 
he  became  interested  in  our  State  work  and  had  been  leading  the  con- 
vention in  song  and  everybody  was  charmed,  there  was  an  old  man  near 
the  front  of  the  audience  who  became  very  much  interested  in  Mr. 
ExcelPs  singing.  After  the  audience  had  been  dismissed  and  people 
were  chatting  in  little  groups,  Mr.  Excell  was  still  standing  on  the  plat- 
form, this  old  man  walked  around  Mr.  Excell,  keeping  his  eyes  riveted 
upon  him  all  the  time,  and  when  he  got  back  to  where  his  friend  was 
standing  he  said:  "No  wonder  he  can  sing,  he's  swallowed  a  whole 
brass  band." 

He  has  made  and  still  is  making  a  great  contribution,  not  only  to 
our  State  Convention,  but  to  our  International  Association,  of  which  he 
is  the  efficient  Treasurer,  and  many  other  up-lifting  organizations. 

Mr.  Hugh  Cork  wrote  for  the  August  Number,  1914,  of  The 
Trumpet  Call :  "Our  State  Vice  President.  It  gives  us  great  pleasure 
to  present  on  the  front  page  of  this  issue  the  portrait  of  one  who  has 
attended  Illinois  conventions  probably  more  than  any  one  else  now  living. 
He  led  the  music  for  the  "old  guard"  in  the  days  gone  by. 

I  first  remember  him  as  he  came  to  our  college  and  with  all  the 
earnestness  of  his  great  heart  and  voice  he  stirred  us  to  "Let  the  Saviour 
In."  When  I  was  wondering  in  those  same  days  what  my  life-work 
should  be  his  message  in  song  came  in  the  niche  of  time,  "Open  the 
Door  for  the  Children."  When  lamenting  at  times  on  how  hard  our  lot 
had  been  and  seeing  more  of  the  hole  than  we  did  of  the  doughnut,  "Uncle 
Ex"  came  along  singing  as  he  only  can,  "Count  Your  Blessings,"  and 
when  you  look  on  his  shining  face  you  feel  the  throb  of  his  singing 
soul,  "I  am  Happy  in  Him,"  and  you  go  out,  as  multitudes  have  done, 
to  "Help  Somebody  To-day." 

The  musical  critics  may  sneer  at  "The  Little  Brown  Church  in  the 
Vale."  but  the  memories  of  it,  like  the  "Old  Oaken  Bucket,"  take  some 
of  us  back  to  sacred  days,  when  at  mother's  knee  we  were  taught  to  go 
about  "The  King's  Business." 

Sing  on,  dear  soul,  and  "Scatter  Sunshine,"  as  you  have  for  so 
many  years,  and  when  the  cloud  does  receive  you  out  of  our  sight  thg 
strains  we  know  we  will  hear  as  you  enter  the  gates  of  the  City  are^ 
"All  Hail,  Immanuel!" 

DAVID  C.  COOK  of  Elgin,  many  years  ago  became  interested  in 
Sunday  ^School  work  and  saw  the  need  of  better  equipment  and  turned 
his  fertile  brain  and  constructive  ability  to  supply  those  needs.  By 
his  painstaking  and  persistent  attention  to"  those  needs  of  the  fast  unfold- 
ing and  developing  modern  Sunday  School  he  has  established  a  very 
large  and  valuable  plant  for  the  production  of  such  supplies.  I  under- 
stand it  is  now  a.  corporation,  and  Mr.  George  Cook,  his  son,  who  was 
elected  President  of  our  Association  at  Elgin  in  1912,  is  interested  with 
his  father  in  the  business.  Mr.  George  Cook  became  a  member  of  our 


61 

Executive  Committee  and  a  member  of  the  International  Association. 
Mr.  David  C.  Cook  is  a  keen  business  man  of  clear  perception  and  when 
his  mind  is  once  made  up  it  is  .very  difficult  to  change  it.  For  some 
reason,  and  I  never  learned  what,  he  refused  to  render  any  assistance 
to  the  advocates  of  the  Graded  Lessons.  He  has  been  and  still  is  a 
liberal  contributor  to  our  Association  and  other  enterprises  that  appeal 
to  his  judgment.  His  lesson  supplies  are  used  in  many  schools,  not- 
withstanding many  denominations  have  their  own  periodicals.  He  has 
rendered  a  great  service  to  the  Sunday  School  cause. 

EDGAR  H.  NICHOLS  was  born  near  State  Center,  Iowa,  in  1867. 
When  he  was  twenty  years  of  age  his  ambitions  led  him  to  Chicago  where 
he  faced  the  world  alone.  He  lived  in  a  boarding  house,  where  the 
influences  were  anything  but  uplifting.  He  realized  one  Sunday  morn- 
ing as  he  walked  the  streets  that  his  life  was  drifting — he  must  make 
a  stand  for  good  or  bad.  He  chose  the  good.  At  a  certain  spot  which 
he  well  remembered  in  after  years  he  gave  his  heart  forever  to  Christ. 
He  went  at  once  to  the  Wesley  Methodist  Church  and  began  his  Sunday 
School  career.  At  the  World's  Washington  Convention  in  1910,  he  was 
added  to  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  World's  Association.  In  1914 
he  was  elected  Treasurer  of  the  International  Association,  in  which 
position  he  served  faithfully  until  his  death  in  September  15,  1916. 
He  was  Superintendent  of  his  own  successful  Sunday  School  for  nearly 
twenty  years. 

He  was  married  and  had  two  children,  a  boy  and  a  girl,  and  when 
they  approached  the  age  of  adolescence  Mr.  Nichols  became  very  much 
interested  in  the  teen  age — boys  and  girls — and  through  his  influence  a 
Department  or  Division  of  the  International  Association,  known  as  the 
Advanced  Division,  or  Teen  Age  was  established.  The  most  critical 
period  in  the  life  of  every  man  and  woman,  and  yet  when  it  is  passed 
they  straightway  forget  what  manner  of  man  or  woman  they  were  dur- 
ing that  crisis  in  human  life.  Mr. Nichols  devoted  much  time,  patience 
and  effort  to  secure  the  needed  help  and  he  made  a  large  contribution 
to  the  efficiency  of  the  Sunday  School  at  this  critical  age  when  the 
"dropping  out"  begins.  Yet  with  the  organization  of  Adult  Classes  of 
men  and  women  the  hold  on  the  teen  age  boys  and  girls  was  greatly 
strengthened.  He  was  a  large,  fine  looking  man,  a  keen  business  man, 
and  banker.  His  family  were  the  idols  of  his  heart.  He  gave  much 
time  to  his  Sunday  School  work  and  the  influence  of  his  life  on  our 
Association  and  also  the  International  was  indeed  great  and  helpful. 
He  is  greatly  missed  from  our  councils.  The  benediction  of  his  up- 
right, manly,  Christian  life  will  long  linger  with  those  who  knew  him  best. 

FRED  A.  WELLS  of  Chicago  is  one  of  the  big  men,  not  only  of 
our  Association,  but  also  of  the  International  and  World's  Associations. 
He  was  for  several  years  a  member  of  our  Executive  Committee.  He 
became  Treasurer  of  the  International  Association  in  1905  and  held 
that  important  position  for  six  years  when  he  was  elected  Chairman  of 
the  Executive  Committee  of  the  International  Association  composed  of 
72  Committeemen  with  64  Alternates,  Sunday  School  men  from  all 
parts  of  North  America.  Mr.  Wells  deals  in  big  things.  He  is  a  large  con- 


62 

tractor  of  Chicago  and  his  business  takes  him  into  all  the  large  cities  of 
North  America  and  he  has  a  wide  acquaintance  with  the  Captains  of  Big 
Business  in  all  this  vast  territory.  He  is  a  man  of  deep  convictions  and 
stands  for  what  he  believes  to  be  right.  He  has  an  abiding  faith  in  the 
dynamic  powers  of  the  Sunday  School  to  solve  any  problem  involving 
the  uplift  of  humanity  and  the  bringing  the  world  to  Jesus  Christ. 

He  was  elected  at  the  World's  Sixth  Convention  in  Washington, 
D.  C.  1910,  with  Sir  George  White,  of  Norwich,  England,  as  Joint 
Treasurers  of  the  World's  Association,  each  for  his  own  nation. 

He  has  rendered,  and  still  is  rendering  a  very  large  service  to  the 
Sunday  School  cause,  not  only  of  our  own  State,  but  of  North  America 
and  of  the  wide,  wide  World.  He  is  in  deep  sympathy  with  any  one  in 
need  and  his  big  heart  goes  out  to  even  the  weakest  in  his  earnest  struggle 
after  that  which  is  higher  and  more  Christ-like.  He  is  a  product  of  our 
Illinois  Sunday  School  Association  and  is  a  type  of  the  strong,  vigorous 
and  loving  manhood  that  has  been  and  still  is  being  developed  and 
trained  for  great  places,  under  God,  in  bringing  a  permanent,  just  and 
lasting  peace  to  this  old  blood-drenched  world  of  ours. 

WILLIAM  C.  PEAECE  became  a  Field  Worker  for  our  Asso- 
ciation in  1891  and  resigned  in  1900  to  accept  the  Secretaryship  of  the 
Cook  County  Association  and  in  1903  he  resigned  that  position  to  enter 
the  employ  of  the  International  Association.  As  a  worker  in  our  Asso- 
ciation, he  was  under  the  training  and  influence  of  both  B.  F.  and  W. 
B.  Jacobs  to  whom  he  looked  for  and  obtained  much  instruction,  in- 
spiration and  power  with  people  and  with  God.  He  has  a  keen  mind  and 
had  prepared  himself  for  professional  life,  when  the  Master  turned  the 
kaleidoscope  of  his  life  and  he  saw  very  clearly  the  Lord's  leading  and 
he  was  not  disobedient  to  the  message  and  he  turned  his  back  on  his 
contemplated  profession  and  followed  the  Master  in  the  way,  and  that 
Master  has  wonderfully  led  him  all  these  subsequent  years.  He  has  an 
abiding  faith  that  the  Lord's  promises  stand  fast  and  sure.  He,  with 
Brothers  Miller,  Schenck  and  Moser,  was  a  Field  Worker  for  five  years 
in  our  Association  and  was  tireless  in  his  efforts  in  the  Master's  cause. 
His  genial  nature  and  strong  religious  faith  drew  many  people  to  him 
and  when  he  left  our  State  work  in  1900  to  throw  himself  with  all  the 
holy  zeal  he  possessed  into  the  great  Cook  County  work,  he  carried  with 
him  the  sympathy  and  prayers  of  not  only  all  the  leading  workers  of  our 
State,  but  many  whose  lives  might  seem  from  a  human  viewpoint  to  be 
unimportant,  but  whose  prayers  out  of  broken,  grateful  hearts,  are  often 
more  potent  with  the  Father  than  any  other  kind,  followed  Mr.  Pearce 
into  his  more  intensive  Cook  County  work.  He  believed  that  the  Sunday 
School  was  a  good  place  for  father  and  mother  as  well  as  the  children 
and  the  more  he  thought  about  it  the  stronger  his  belief  became,  and 
dominated  with  that  dynamic  power,  he  seized  the  nucleus  of  such  an 
organization  and  soon  had  Cook  County  on  fire  with  zeal  for  the  Adult 
Classes  in  the  Sunday  School.  That  fire  was  not  limited  to  the  bound- 
aries of  that  county,  but  through  his  influence  broke  out  in  different 
parts  of  the  State.  Cook  County  under  his  leadership  adopted  a  small 
red  button  with  a  round  white  center,  designed  bv  Herbert  L.  Hill  of 


63 

Chicago  and  one  of  its  enthusiastic  workers,  as  the  badge  of  the  Adult 
Bible  Class.  Its  significance  is:  "There  is  no  purity  of  life  without 
sacrifice,  and  no  cleansing  of  sin  without  the  shedding  of  blood."  Heb. 
9  :22.  Our  State  Association  soon  adopted  this  same  button  as  its  Adult 
Class  emblem. 

When  Mr.  Pearce  entered  the  International  Association  work  he 
was  assigned  to  the  Adult  Department  of  which  I  was  chairman  and  we 
also  adopted  the  little  red  button  with  white  center  as  our  emblem.  It 
rapidly  became  a  continent- wide  bond  of  fellowship  in  addition  to  the 
good  it  is  doing  by  way  of  helping  to  advertise  and  introduce  the  organ- 
ized Adult  Bible  Class  work. 

At  the  Convention  at  East  St.  Louis  in  1907,  Mr.  Pearce  said  in 
substance:  This  is  the  State  that  gave  me  birth,  the  State  where  I 
found  Jesus  Christ,  the  State  that  gave  me  my  mother  and  a  host  of 
friends.  Other  States  may  come  to  be  dear,  and  as  an  International 
worker  I  trust  I  may  be  loyal  to  other  parts  of  this  country,  but  there 
is  one  State  that  always  finds  the  dearest  place  in  my  heart  and  it  is 
Illinois !  For  not  only  is  Illinois  a  great  Sunday-school  State,  but  her 
workers  are  ever  loyal  to  the  work  throughout  the  country.  Wherever 
an  Illinois  man  or  woman  goes  there  he  goes  preaching  the  Sunday-school 
gospel,  and  I  pray  that  it  may  ever  be  so.  I  should  be  recreant  to  my 
trust  if  I  failed  to  speak  of  the  greetings  which  I  am  from  time  to  time 
asked  to  convey  to  you.  The  other  night  in  South  Carolina,  that  far 
southern  State,  with  their  warm-heartedness  and  their  splendid  Sunday- 
school  zeal,  at  the  close  of  the  last  session,  a  gentleman  arose  and  out  of 
the  fulness  of  his  heart  said :  "Mr.  Chairman,  I  move  you  that  we  send 
to  Illinois,  by  Brother  Pearce,  the  loving  sympathy  of  the  South  Caro- 
lina, People ;"  and  I  bring  it  to  you  tonight !  The  war  is  actually  over ! 
A  new  time  has  dawned  upon  us. 

We  need  men  and  women  in  our  Sunday  Schools;  the  men  perhaps 
more  than  the  women,  but  I  doubt  it.  If  there  is  one  class  in  all  the 
world  that  needs  to  be  brought  into  vital  touch  with  the  Sunday  School 
it  is  the  mothers  of  our  land  who  have  forgotten  and  left  off  the  teaching 
of  the  Word  of  God  in  the  home.  We  need  them  there.  We  need  them 
as  an  example.  Brother  Little,  who  was  the  pastor  of  the  Methodist 
Church  in  Danville,  Illinois,  told  me  this  story  of  some  pastor,  perhaps 
himself,  calling  upon  a  family  in  a  new  charge.  He  saw  a  little  boy 
playing  on  the  floor  and  he  said,  "Is  this  your  boy  ?"  "Yes  sir."  "How 
many  children  have  you?"  "Four."  "How  mauy  are  boys?"  "All  of 
them."  "Well,  that  is  too  bad  that  one  of  them  could  not  have  been  a 
girl,  is  it  not?"  And  the  little  five  year  old  boy  looked  up  and  said, 
"Well,  I  would  like  to  know  who'd  been  her !  Bill  would  not  have  been 
her,  and  Sam  wouldn't  have  been  her,  and  John  wouldn't  have  been  her, 
•HIK!  1  tell  you  right  now  I  wouldn't  have  been  her!"  There  is  not  any- 
thing in  this  world  a  boy  wants  to  be  except  a  man,  and  there  is  not 
any  thing  a  girl  wants  to  be  but  a  woman.  We  need  men  and  women 
as  examples,  and  we  need  them  as  workers  in  our  Sunday-schools  and  as 
supporters  of  them. 


-  64 

MAKION  LAWKENCE  was  born  in  1853  in  Winchester,  Ohio: 
He  removed  to  Toledo  in  1873,  where  he  became  associated  with  the 
Washington  Street  Congregational  Sunday  School,  of  which  he  was 
elected  Superintendent  in  1876.  Under  his  leadership  the  school  became 
widely  known  for  the  improved  methods  used  in  conducting  its  work, 
and  in  1888  he  was  engaged  by  the  church  as  superintendent  on  half  time, 
being  perhaps  the  first  paid  Superintendent  in  our  country.  He  con- 
tinued as  a  traveling  man  during  the  other  half  of  his  time. 

At  the  State  Convention  of  Ohio  Sunday-school  Association  in  1891 
he  was  sitting  in  the  back  of  the  church  during  the  discussion  as  to  the 
advisability  of  the  election  of  a  state  secretary  for  the  Association  and  it 
was  carried.  Mr.  B.  F.  Jacobs  of  Illinois  was  present  and  he  came  to 
where  Mr.  Lawrence  was  sitting  in  the  back  of  the  church  and  put  his 
hand  upon  Mr.  Lawrence's  shoulder  and  said :  "Mr.  Lawrence  you  are 
the  man  God  has  selected  as  General  Secretary  of  Ohio."  This  so  im- 
pressed Mr.  Lawrence  with  his  responsibility  that  when  the  committee 
afterwards  came  to  him  and  tendered  the  position  he  accepted  it,  and  with 
great  credit  and  honor  he  put  the  Ohio  work  "over  the  top,"  until  he 
was  elected  as  General  Secretary  of  the  International  Sunday  School 
Association  in  1899,  and  upon  the  retirement  of  B.  F.  Jacobs,  he  became 
the  active  head  of  the  International  Field  Force,  and  ever  since  has 
supervised  the  development  of  that  Organization. 

In  1910,  Mr.  Lawrence  was  made  General  Secretary  of  the  World's 
Sunday  School  Association  and  the  Headquarters  of  both  Associations 
were  moved  to  Chicago.  Mr.  Lawrence  resigned  as  Secretary  of  the 
World's  Association  March  1,  1914,  but  has  continued  as  General  Sec- 
retary of  the  International  Sunday  School  Association. 

He  is  a  recognized  authority  on  methods,  field  conditions,  and  upon 
the  conduct  of  Sunday  Schools  and  Sunday  School  architecture. 

He  has  published  three  books :  "How  to  Conduct  a  Sunday  School ;" 
"Housing  the  Sunday  School/'  and  "The  Sunday  School  Organized  for 
Service,"  which  are  widely  circulated  and  are  filled  with  common  sense 
and  practical  suggestions  so  that  it  has  almost  become  proverbial,  that 
when  any  Sunday  School  question  is  asked,  the  reply  is:  "Ask  Marion 
Lawrence."  He  is  a  man  of  beautiful  spirit  and  more  nearly  typifies  my 
conception  of  the  "Beloved  Disciple"  than  any  man  I  ever  knew.  His 
very  gentleness  makes  him  great.  He  counts  his  friends  by  the  millions 
and  he  has  done  and  is  still  doing  a  marvelous  work  for  God  and 
humanity.  To  know  him  is  to  love  and  trust  him. 

He  said  in  the  Dixon  Convention  in  1908 :  "It  is  fitting  that  Illinois 
should  be  associated  with  the  World-wide  Sunday  School  work.  Illinois 
is  in  the  very  center  of  the  Sunday  School  firmament,  one  of  the  bright- 
est stars,  not  because  of  your  great  conventions,  but  because  the  work 
has  been  radiating  during  all  these  years  from  this  center  into  all  parts 
of  the  world.  I  suppose  there  are  more  Sunday  School  workers  officially 
connected  with  the  work  in  various  places  in  this  land  and  others  who 
were  trained  in  Illinois,  than  from  any  other  State  in  our  Union.  You 
are  the  mother  of  many  of  the  Sunday  School  interests  of  the  world; 
and  as  one  of  the  mother's  children  I  come  down  tonight  and  lay  my 


65 

head  in  mother's  lap  and  plead  again  for  a  needy  part  of  our  great 
field.  *  *  *  You  are  favored  in  Illinois;  I  often  say  that,  by  the 
severest  test  of  organization,  Illinois  still  leads  the  Union,  and  I  believe 
it  with  all  my  heart.  What  is  the  test  of  organization?  I  will  tell  you 
what  it  is  in  this  State  or  in  any  other;  that  State  is  best  organized 
whose  counties  and  townships  would  go  on  and  do  their  work  the  best 
and  longest  without  any  more  State  supervision.  -That  is  the  test  of 
organization.  The  test  of  the  walking  ability  of  a  child  is  the  ability 
to  walk  when  mother's  hands  are  no  longer  under  its  armpits  helping 
it  along.  Dear  friends,  it  is  a  wonderful  place  you  occupy,  right  at  the 
head  of  this  wonderful  procession.  *  *  * 

I  want  to  lay  upon  the  heart  of  Illinois,  grand  old  rich  Illinois — rich 
in  history  and  memory — the  Illinois  of  Jacobs,  of  Eggleston,  of  Rey- 
nolds, of  Moody,  of  Whittle,  and  many  another  saint  of  God — Illinois 
with  the  fine  privilege  of  leading  in  the  vanguard  of  the  Sunday  School 
work  of  the  World,  that  has  in  it  to-day,  I  suppose,  more  efficient  Sun- 
day-school workers  to  the  square  inch  than  any  other  spot  on  the  face 
of  the  earth.  It  would  be  a  fine  thing  for  this  convention,  notwithstand- 
ing you  have  already  done  so  handsomely,  to  increase  your  State  pledge 
at  Louisville.  I  am  not  asking  you  to  do  that.  We  would  like  to  have 
you  do  the  thing  the  Lord  lays  on  your  heart.  Do  the  things  the  Lord 
prompts  you  to  do."  In  a  few  minutes,  more  than  the  $700  asked  for  was 
subscribed. 

EDWARD  K.  WARREN  of  Three  Oaks,  Michigan,  was  in  our 
State  Convention  at  Springfield  in  1884.  Mr.  Warren  at  that  time 
was  the  General  Secretary  of  the  Michigan  Sunday  School  Association. 
He  made  a  short  address  in  which  he  said:  "I  have  heard  so  much 
about  Illinois  Conventions  that  I  thought  I  would  come  over  and  spy 
out  the  land  and  find  your  secret.  I  have  already  discovered  one  of 
your  secrets  and  that  is  you  have  men  here  who  know  how  to  give  orders 
and  the  rest  of  you  seem  to  know  exceedingly  well  how  to  obey  them. 
We  are  occasionally  blessed  by  a  missionary  visit  from  some  Illinois 
worker  and  you  can  follow  his  trail  all  over  our  State.  Many  of  our 
counties  have  good  county  organizations  but  we  are  not  as  successful  as 
we  should  like  in  joining  the  county  with  the  State  Association.  On 
one  occasion  we  were  getting  up  a  county  convention  and  we  pushed  the 
arrangements  so  that  finally  the  General  Passenger  Agent  said  "Please 
return  delegates  from  such  a  place  on  account  of  the  State  Convention." 
My  children  are  beginning  to  learn  that  when  my  old  brown  valise  comes 
out,  there  is  a  Sunday  School  Convention  somewhere.  Not  long  ago 
the  conventions  came  pretty  thick  and  one  of  them  happened  to  be  in 
our  county?"  And  my  little  boy  said:  "Papa,  how  often  do  they  hold 
conventions  in  our  county?"  And  my  little  girl  said:  "Why,  don't 
you  know?  We  hold  them  every  month."  As  I  came  into  the  conven- 
tion this  morning  I  looked  over  the  faces  of  those  who  were  here,  and  I 
noticed  a  great  many  elderly  men  and  women,  especially  elderly  men, 
and  as  I  knew  your  record  to  some  extent  it  gave  me  pleasure  to  see 
the  men  who  have  brought  about  this  result,  so  that  the  influence  of 
your  Sunday  School  Association  is  felt  in  every  part  of  the  globe  where 
— 5  S  S  H 


66 

the  English  language  is  spoken.  In  that  early  session,  I  saw  very  few 
young  men,  but  later  in  the  day  I  was  pleased  to  notice  that  the  young 
men  are  taking  up  the  work  that  is  laid  upon  them,  and,  Mr.  President, 
let  me  say  to  you  that  you  have  taken  up  a  work  that  is  no  small  thing. 
Out  of  the  "600,000  Sunday  School  scholars  in  Illinois,  I  dare  say  there 
are  3,000  in  small  neighborhoods,  where  a  class  may  have  only  three  or 
four  boys  in  it.  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  it  is  hard  to  hold  the  boys. 
Sometimes  we  think  that  if  we  have  not  a  large  class  of  boys  we  are  not 
doing  them  justice,  but  I  want  to  say  that  you  must  not  neglect  one 
of  them.  Give  them  something  to  do.  It  seems  to  me  that  there  would 
be  no  difficulty  in  looking  after  all  our  union  work,  if  every  church 
would  pay  the  expense  of  its  own  Sabbath  School.  Let  the  nursery  of 
the  church  be  supported  by  the  church  and  see  that  Sunday  School  work 
is  pushed  all  over  the  land.  Sometimes  people  think  they  are  too  busy 
to  be  teachers  or  superintendents  in  a  school.  Let  me  say,  if  you  have  a 
man  or  woman  in  your  school  that  is  not  busy,  there  is  something  wrong 
somewhere.  The  other  morning  at  family  worship  my  little  girl  was 
reading  the  last  verse  of  the  First  Epistle  of  John:  "Little  children, 
keep  your  hands  from  idols,  amen,"  and  she  read  it:  "Little  children, 
keep  your  hands  from  idle  men."  I  leave  you  with  this  advice,  keep 
your  hands  from  idle  men. 

The  following  incident  will  give  you  a  clearer  insight  to  the  char- 
acter and  quality  of  the  manhood  possessed  by  Mr.  Warren  than  almost 
anything  else  that  I  might  mention :  The  town  of  Three  Oaks  was  a 
licensed  town  and,  while  Mr.  Warren  was  opposed  to  saloons,  he  was 
unable  to  keep  them  out.  Finally  he  concluded  to  arrange  the  matter 
in  another  way.  The  council  passed  an  ordinance  permitting  only  one 
saloon  and  raised  the  license  fee  to  $500  per  year.  Mr.  Warren  then 
made  application  for  that  liquor  license  and  it  was  granted  to  him.  He 
paid  the  $500  each  year  and  took  his  license  and  put  it  in  his  safe  and 
never  opened  the  saloon  nor  sold  a  drop  of  liquor.  He  has  the  distinction 
of  being  the  only  intense  Sunday  School  "saloon  keeper"  that  the  Inter- 
national Sunday  School  Association  has  ever  known. 

Mr.  Warren  has  been  so  closely  associated  with  the  "Old  Guard" 
and  especially  since  the  moving  of  the  International  and  World's  head- 
quarters to  Chicago,  that  Illinois  has  long  since  adopted  him  as  one  of 
its  "Old  Guard." 

On  the  death  of  Dr.  Hamill,  Mr.  Warren  was  elected  President 
of  the  International  Association.  His  health  has  now  failed  so  that  he 
must  give  up  all  his  great  Sunday  School  work.  He  is  the  personi- 
fication of  loving  kindness.  He  has  lived  to  a  noble  purpose  and  lifted 
the  world  nearer  to  God  by  his  fidelity  and  persistent  labor  of  love.  He 
never  loses  an  opportunity  to  speak  a  good  word  for  Jesus  Christ — always 
doing  some  noble,  loving  ministry  for  someone  else.  If  Dr.  VanDyke  is 
correct  about  the  Angels  building  the  Heavenly  "Mansions"  out  of  the 
materials  that  each  individual  daily  sends  to  heaven  by  the  angels,  dear 
Mr.  Warren's  Mansion  will  be  large  and  handsome  beyond  human  speech 
to  describe.  He  has  been  a  great  inspiration  to  many  Illinois  Sunday 


67 

School  workers  who  love  and  trust  him  fully.  He  is  one  of  the  choicest 
spirits  I  have  ever  known. 

DE.  JOHN  POTTS  of  Canada  was  such  a  very  intimate  friend  of 
the  members  of  "The  Old  Guard"  and  also  of  very  many  other  Illinois 
Sunday  School  workers  and  attended  at  least  two  of  our  State  Con- 
ventions, one  at  Sterling  in  1903  and  the  other  at  Clinton  in  1906,  and 
delivered  several  forceful  and  eloquent  addresses  that  will  always  be 
remembered  with  pleasure  and  profit  by  those  who  heard  him,  that  it 
seems  appropriate  that  at  least  a  very  brief  mention  should  be  made  of 
such  a  splendid  character. 

The  International  Association  at  the  Louisville  Convention  in  1908, 
engrossed  on  its  record  the  following  tribute  to  this  great  character. 

REV.  JOHN  POTTS,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 

"Prince  in  Israel,"  Pastor,  Preacher,  Educator,  Sunday  School 
Worker,  Master  of  Assemblies,  Wise  Counsellor,  Loyal  Friend, 
Tireless  Leader  of  Men,  Splendid  Type  of  a  Christian  Gentleman. 
Member  International  Lesson  Committee,  1878-1907;  Chairman, 
1896-1907.  Secretary  of  Board  of  Education  of  the  Methodist 
Churches,  Canada.  Born  in  Ireland,  May  3,  1838;  "At  Rest,"  Oct- 
tober  16,  1907." 

One  of  his  addresses,  perhaps  the  one  that  he  delivered  most  fre- 
quently, was  entitled:  "Is  the  Sunday  School  worth  What  It  Costs?" 
You  can  easily  imagine  how  he  would  answer  that  question,  but  perhaps 
you  may  be  interested  in  hearing  some  of  his  general  conclusions : 

1.  The  Sunday-school  is  worth  what  it  costs  in  its  educational  value. 

2.  The  Sunday-school  is  worth  what  it  costs  in  the  supreme  place 
which  it  accords  to  the  Bible. 

3.  The  Sunday-school  is  worth  what  it  costs  because  of  the  literature 
which  it  produces  and  disseminates. 

4.  The  Sunday-school  is  worth  what  it  has  cost  because  it  is  one  of 
the  greatest  agencies  for  enlarging  the  kingdom  of  God. 

5.  It  is  worth  what  it  costs  in  its  gift  of  workers  to  the  church. 
Concerning  the  future  of  the  Sunday-school  Dr.  Potts  was  in  the 

highest  degree  optimistic. 

It  was  a  favorite  saying  with  him,  "The  Sunday-school  must  keep 
time  to  the  music  of  the  twentieth  century." 

HUGH  CORK.  As  hereinbefore  stated  on  pages  84-5,  on  the 
resignation  of  Mr.  W.  B.  Jacobs  as  General  Secretary  of  our  Association, 
Mr.  Hugh  Cork  became  our  General  Secretary.  He  was  a  man  of  wide 
experience  in  Sunday-school  work  in  all  its  phases  and  he  brought  to  his 
work  January  1,  1912,  a  rich  experience  and  with  the  promise  of  many 
years  of  constructive  building  on  the  broad  and  deep  foundation  Mr. 
Jacobs  had  laid  for  Sunday  School  work  in  Illinois. 

The  following  resolution  expresses  in  concise  terms  our  Asso- 
ciation's feelings  for  Mr.  Cork  and  his  work  in  our  State. 

"Resolution  Regarding  Mr.  Cork's  Resignation. 


68 

Mr.  A.  H.  Mills  read  the  following  resolution,  which  was  voted : 

Our  beloved  secretary,  Brother  Hugh  Cork,  who  for  four  and  one- 
half  years  has  led  our  Association  so  efficiently,  last  December  tendered 
to  your  committee  his  resignation,  to  take  effect  March  1st,  last,  but  at 
your  committee's  earnest  request,  it  was  finally  agreed  that  his  resignation 
should  not  take  effect  until  July  1st.  This  resignation  came  as  a  great 
surprise  to  many  of  the  members  of  your  committee,  and  will  also  be 
to  many  members  of  our  Association  in  different  parts  of  the 
State.  Before  this  relationship  is  severed,  it  is  right  and  proper  that, 
this  Association  take  some  action  expressive  of  its  appreciation,  not  only 
of  the  Christian  character  of  our  dear  brother,  but  also  of  the  quality 
and  quanity  of  his  handiwork  during  these  years.  He  came  to  us  at 
the  close  of  the  long  and  faithful  service  of  the  late  beloved  and  trusted 
W.  B.  Jacobs,  who  had  also  touched  the  life  of  Brother  Cork  as  a  young 
man,  and  pointed  out  to  him  his  life  work. 

Both  of  these  men  were  strong  personalities.  While  having  many 
things  in  common,  yet  there  were  strong  points  of  difference.  Mr. 
Jacobs  had  laid  the  foundation  of  our  work  and  had  touched  many  lives 
who  have  done  and  are  still  doing  great  things  for  our  Master. 

Mr.  Cork's  task  was  to  build  the  superstructure  upon  that  foun- 
dation, and  he  brought  to  that  work  a  character  that  was  earnest,  fearless, 
resourceful,  and  a  capacity  for  large  personal  work.  His  work  has  been 
very  largely  constructive;  he  intended  it  to  be  entirely  so.  He  has 
brought  the  larger  cooperation  between  the  denominations  and  our 
Association  by  securing  to  the  denominations  representation  on  your 
executive  committee,  thus  setting  the  pace  for  other  state  associations. 

We  desire  to  assure  our  dear  brother  that  he  carries  with  him  the  grat- 
itude, love  and  benediction  of  this  Association  for  the  great  work  he  has 
done  in  this  State,  and  that  we  hereby  assure  him  that  our  earnest 
prayers  will  accompany  him  into  what-ever  field  of  service  our  Father 
shall  call  him." 

MISS  MARY  I.  BRAGG,  for  over  twenty-five  years  connected  with 
General  Secretary,  Mr.  W.  B.  Jacobs'  office,  much  of  the  time  his 
Assistant  Secretary,  and  also  Assistant  Treasurer,  left  that  position  with 
the  close  of  the  Elgin  Convention  in  1912  and  laid  aside  the  heavy  re- 
sponsibilities that  she  had  so  faithfully  and  efficiently  carried  all  these 
years;  such  devoted  service  has  been  rarely  equalled.  She  has  broken 
her  alabaster  box — her  trusting,  loving,  heart — and  anointed  every  Illi- 
nois Sunday  School  worker  and  the  fragrance  of  her  beautiful  life 
will  continue  a  blessed  benediction  and  inspiration  to  us  all  and  our 
children  for  many,  many  years.  May  her  mantle  of  loyalty,  fidelity, 
purity  and  consecration  fall  on  the  young  womanhood  of  Illinois  and 
inspire  these  lives  to  the  highest  and  most  devoted  service  to  the  Blessed 
Master  is  the  earnest  prayer  of  the  Sunday  School  forces  of  Illinois. 

In  "The  Trumpet  Call"  of  October  1911,  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  W> 
B.  Jacobs  this  tribute  to  Miss  Bragg  will  be  found : 

"The  Illinois  Sunday  School  Association,  and  all  interested  in  its 
prosperity  have  great  occasion  for  thankfulness  to  God  that  twenty-five 
years  ago — September,  1886 — He  led  our  General  Secretary  to  call  to  his 


69 

assistance  Miss  Mary  I.  Bragg;  and  that  during  ail  these  years  her  life 
has  been  spared  to  us,  and  devoted  to  loving,  efficient  and  faithful 
service  for  the  Master  Whom  she  loves  and  in  Whose  Name  our  Illinois 
Sunuday  School  work  is  carried  forward. 

No  one  so  well  as  the  writer  can  know  how  much  Miss  Bragg's 
pains-taking  work  has  meant  to  our  State  Association.  The  multiplicity 
of  details,  each  requiring  thoughtfulness,  accuracy,  conscientious  fidel- 
ity, have  been  looked  after  by  Miss  Bragg  as  if  the  success  of  our  work 
depended  upon  her  faithfulness,  which  is  true  to  an  extent  not  realized 
by  many.  The  General  Secretary,  who  at  first  felt  that  only  by  his 
personal  verification  could  he  know  that  every  detail  of  his  office  work 
was  correct,  soon  learned  so  fully  to  trust  Miss  Bragg's  judgment  and 
accuracy,  that  when  she  said  of  anything  entrusted  to  her,  "This  is  cor- 
rect," he  dismissed  all  care  concerning  it. 

Nor  was  Miss  Bragg  satisfied  when  her  own  particular  duty  had  been 
faithfully  and  fully  attended  to.  God  gave  her  a  wideness  of  vision 
and  a  largeness  of  heart,  which  included  all  counties  and  all  Sunday 
School  workers  of  Illinois,  and  her  desire  and  labor  for  the  highest  good 
of  all.  The  work  of  the  General  Secretary,  the  Executive  Committee, 
the  Field  Workers,  the  Department  and  County  Officers,  have  been 
carried  upon  her  heart,  as  if  their  work  was  a  part  of  her  own,  and  noth- 
ing has  been  left  undone  by  her  which  an  active  mind,  a  loving  heart  and 
a  helping  hand  could  do  for  the  larger  success  of  our  Illinois  Sunday 
School  Association. 

But  words  fail  us  to  depict  the  unselfish  devotion,  the  unwearied 
faithfulness  and  the  high  conception  of  duty  which  for  twenty-five  years 
has  characterized  the  work  of  our  Assistant  Secretary 

MARY  I.  BRAGG 

Heaven's  Blessing  rest  upon  her ! 
Heaven's  Joy  be  her  everlasting  reward!" 

MRS.  MARY  FOSTER  BRYNER  of  Peoria  knew  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
William  Reynolds  and  Dr.  Alexander  G.  Tyng  when  she  was  a  small 
child  and  the  influence  of  those  lives  upon  her  in  the  early1  formative 
years  of  her  life  has  been  rich  fruitage  to  our  Association,  the  Inter- 
national Association,  and  the  Sunday  Schools  of  the  World.  She  early 
came  in  contact  with  B.  F.  and  W.  B.  Jacobs  and  others  of  "The  Old 
Guard"  and  soon  her  life  became  dominated  by  an  intense  desire  to  give 
to  this  great  work  the  splendid  loyalty  of  her  loving  heart  and  fertile 
brain.  She  was  in  the  employ  of  our  Association  until  her  efficiency 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  International  Association  and  she  re- 
signed her  work  with  us  to  take  up  that  of  the  International.  She  be- 
came one  of  its  Field  Workers,  making  long  trips  through,  not  only  the 
United  States,  but  Canada  and  Mexico.  She  has  rare  powers  as  a  public 
speaker.  She  has  something  in  her  messages  for  the-  child,  the  teen  age 
boy  and  girl,  the  young  business  man  and  woman,  -the  fathers  and 
mothers,  and  even  the  grandfathers  and  grandmothers.  I  have  seen 
her  address  audiences  having  in  them  all  these  classes  and  she  held  the 
attention  of  each  and  every  one — a  remarkable  gift;  in  it  all  she  ever 
remains  the  same  practical,  earnest,  consecrated  worker,  always  ready 
—11  H  S 


TO 

for  the  next  task  that  the  Master  has  for  her.  She  was  elected  Ele- 
mentary Superintendent  by  the  International  Association  at  Louisville 
in  1908  and  she  brought  to  the  new  duties  her  intense  earnestness,  fidelity, 
tact  and  wide  acquaintance  and  rich  experience  gained  in  other  branches 
of  the  Sunday-school  work  that  were  of  great  help  to  her.  Wherever 
she  went  in  the  International  field  she  found  many  people  who  were 
ready  to  hear  her  message  and  follow  her  suggestions.  She  made  a 
large  contribution,  not  only  to  the  International,  but  to  every  State 
Association  to  which  she  went  and  to  all  conferences,  schools,  and  other 
interested  groups  of  people  in  the  welfare  of  the  childhood  of  the  North 
American  Continent.  She  made  friends  easily  and  held  them  by  the 
strength  of  her  personality  and  her  ability  to  help  those  needing  and 
seeking  help. 

At  the  State  Convention  in  1913  Mrs  Bryner  said: 

"The  Sunday-school  may  teach  children  to  know  what  is  right,  but 
the  home  must  teach  them  to  do  what  is  right.  Sunday-school  attend- 
ance for  most  pupils  is  less  than  48  hours  a  year;  they  live  at  home,  in 
school,  and  on  the  playground;  they  are  hearers  at  Sunday-school;  they 
are  doers  in  daily  life. 

The  Sunday-school  may  admonish,  "Oh,  sing  unto  the  Lord," 
"Enter  into  His  gates  with  thanksgiving,"  "Eemember  the  Sabbath  day 
to  keep  it  holy,"  "Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother,"  "Search  the 
Scriptures,"  "Keep  thyself  pure,"  "Keep  thy  heart  with  all  dili- 
gence," "Lord,  teach  us  how  to  pray,"  etc.,  but  if  these  impressions 
never  find  expression  out  side  of  the  church  walls,  there  is  little  nurture 
for  spiritual  growth. 

If  in  the  homes  no  sacred  song  is  ever  heard,  no  grace  at  table,  no 
custom  of  church  going,  no  difference  regarding  things  planned  for  Sun- 
day, no  opening  of  the  Bible,  no  word  of  prayer,  in  fact,  no  spiritual 
uplift,  it  is  evident  that  other  influences  are  nurturing  the  growing  life 
and  the  spiritual  nature  is  not  satisfied,  but  starved.  Children  are 
admonished  by  precept,  line  upon  line ;  they  are  nurtured  by  the  stories 
they  hear,  and  by  the  example  of  those  whom  they  see,  hear,  and  imitate. 
Every  parent  or  teacher  should  write  out  and  pray  with  the  children 
or  class  in  mind : 

Dear  Lord, 

I'll  go  where  I  want  them  to  go, 
I'll  say  what  I  want  them  to  say, 
I'll  do  what  I  want  them  to  do, 
I'll  be  what  I  want  them  to  be. 

Sign  name 

Admonition  seeks  to  train  from  without,  often  by  abstract  state- 
ments, which  children  cannot  digest.  Nurture  endeavors  to  assist  the 
child  to  assimilate  in  concrete  form  that  which  will  work  from  within. 
Paul's  injunction  gave  first  place  to  nurture,  "Train  them  in  the  nurture 
and  adominition  of  the  Lord." 

The  Home  and  Sunday  School  should  join  forces  to  secure  spirit- 
ual training.  Parents  should  become  familiar  with  the  general  aim  of 


71 

Graded  Lessons.     "To  meet  the  spiritual  needs  of  every  pupil,  at  each 
stage  of  his  development." 

Mrs.  Bryner  wrote  for  the  International  Section  of  the  December, 
1913,  Trumpet  Call  as  follows: 

"The  Elementary  colors,  green  and  white,  and  their  meaning  of 
purity  and  growth  suggest  naturally  the  motto,  "First  the  Blade." 

As  the  text-book  of  all  Bible  schools  is  the  Word  of  God,  it  is  also 
the  good  seed  which  every  Elementary  teacher  strives  to  plant  early  in 
the  hearts  of  the  children.  The  heart  of  a  child  is  the  best  soil  in  which 
this  good  seed  may  quicken  into  life.  To  nurture  its  growth,  simple, 
childlike  worship  is  needed.  Prayers,  songs  and  Bible  stories  help  to 
cultivate  its  growth.  Teachers  of  children  should  watch  earnestly  for 
the  first  evidences  of  the  tiny  blades  of  spiritual  growth,  which  may  be 
indicated  by  a  child's  question  and  his  strivings  to  choose  and  do  the 
right.  The  full  fruitage  must  not  be  expected  in  a  moment.  It  is 
God's  way  that  there  shall  appear  "First  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  then 
the  full  grain  in  the  ear." 

But  during  childhood  years  there  should  appear  that  little  blade 
whose  stalk  may  strengthen,  bud  and  blossom,  bringing  forth  much 
good  fruit. 

Mrs.  Bryner's  mother  was  in  failing  health,  and  her  sister  who  cared 
for  the  mother  for  a  number  of  years  was  failing  under  the  stress  of  the 
care  to  such  an  extent  that  Mrs.  Bryner  felt  that  her  first  duty  was  to 
her  mother  and  sister  and  she  resigned  her  position  with  the  Inter- 
national Association  to  give  to  the  home  loved  ones  a  daughter's  and 
sister's  devotion  and  care,  giving  what  time  she  could  spare  from  such 
care  to  calls  for  convention  help  that  might  seek  her  services. 

When  Mrs.  Bryner  left  the  employ  of  the  International  Association, 
many  of  her  closest  friends  prepared  a  very  handsome  memory  book  for 
her,  each  friend  writing  what  was  in  his  or  her  heart  as  a  love  token  for 
her  very  great  contribution  to  this  great  cause  and  to  her. 

MRS.  M.  S.  LAMOREAUX  of  Chicago  was  Secretary  of  our  State 
Primary  Department  for  quite  a  number  of  years  and  she  brought  to 
her  work  a  pleasing  personality,  and  an  intense  desire  to  inspire  her 
hearers,  especially  the  parents  of  small  children,  to  bring  to  the  training 
of  their  children  the  very  best  of  which  they  were  capable.  Her  love  for 
the  Master  was  intense  and  she  had  great  power  over  her  audience 
whether  she  was  pleading  for  the  rights  of  the  little  children  or  whether 
she  was  appealing  for  the  right  treatment  for  the  unfolding  life  of  the 
teen  age  boy  and  girl.  In  1907  she  wrote  a  very  practical  and  helpful 
book:  "The  Unfolding  Life,"  with  an  introduction  by  Mr.  Lawrence. 
The  book  has  been  widely  read  and  is  highly  appreciated  by  Sunday 
School  people.  Mrs.  Lamoreaux  is  a  fascinating  speaker  and  she  holds 
her  audience  to  the  last  word.  She  has  largely  contributed  to  the 
success  of  our  Association. 

MRS.  HERBERT  L.  HILL  of  Chicago,  but  now  of  New  York, 
was  for  many  years  President  of  the  Primary  Department  of  our  Asso- 
ciation. She  made  a  large  contribution  to  that  department  of  our  work 
and  had  hosts  of  friends  in  all  parts  of  the  State  who  will  always  cherish 


72 

the  fine  spirit  she  ever  manifested  in  her  work,  and  never  cease  to  thank 
the  Master  for  bringing  their  lives  in  touch  with  hers. 

GEORGE  W.  MILLER,  who,  for  more  than  twenty  years  had  been 
a  faithful,  earnest,  and  efficient  field  worker  of  our  State  Association 
severed  his  relation  on  November  1,  1912.  He  and  Mr.  Jacobs  had 
always  been  the  closest  of  friends  and  each  had  the  full  confidence  of  the 
other.  Mr.  Jacobs  knew  that  he  could  rely  upon  "George"  wherever  he 
was  placed.  Mr.  Miller  made  and  has  all  these  years  held  hundreds  of 
faithful  friends  in  all  parts  of  the  State  and  they  frequently  speak  of 
his  loyalty  and  efficiency.  He  has  for  several  years  past  been  the  efficient 
and  consecrated  secretary  of  the  South  Dakota  Sunday  School  Asso- 
ciation and  has  made  good,  and  his  influence  deepens  and  widens  as  the 
weeks  go  by. 

ARTHUR  T.  ARNOLD  in  1898  was  one  of  our  Sunday  School 
Missionaries  and  attended  many  conventions  and  other  meetings  in 
behalf  of  our  Association.  He  became  one  of  our  Field  Workers  in  that 
year  and  continued  as  such  worker  and  doing  fine  service  until  February 
1,  1909,  when  at  the  earnest  request  of  the  Sunday  School  Association  of 
West  Virginia,  he  became  its  General  Secretary  and  entered  his  new  work 
with  much  enthusiasm  and  after  several  years  of  splendid  service,  he 
received  a  call  to  the  Ohio  Association  which  he  accepted  and  is  now  the 
efficient  General  Secretary  of  that  State,  following  in  the  "footprints" 
of  Mr.  Marion  Lawrence  and  Dr.  Joseph  Clark,  (Timothy  Standby.) 
Mr.  Arnold  is  making  good  and  doing  fine  work. 

HENRY  MOSER  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  State  Executive 
Committee  in  1898  and  in  the  Spring  of  1902  became  one  of  the  State 
Field  Workers.  His  deep  interest  in  the  things  of  the  Kingdom  and  his 
great  love  for  the  Master  gave  him  great  success  in  helping  in  Sunday 
School  work.  He  closed  his  work  for  the  Association  on  November  1, 
1912,  and  has  engaged  in  other  work  since  and  now  represents  his  de- 
nomination on  the  State  Association  Executive  Committee  and  his  long 
acquaintance  with  the  work  and  workers  makes  him  a  valuable  member. 
.  CHARLES  E.  .SCHENCK,  our  present  efficient  Secretary,  is  doing 
splendid  work  along  advanced  Sunday  School  lines.  He  carries  the 
Christly  spirit  with  him  wherever  he  goes.  He  is  growing  and  is  ever 
ready  for  suggestions  as  to  how  any  part  of  our  work  can  be  made  more 
efficient  and  bring  greater  results — his  only  ambition  being  to  bring 
his  Master  into  as  close  touch  and  sympathy  with  each  Sunday- 
school  worker  as  it  is  possible  for  him  to  do.  His  years  of  training  under 
Mr.  Jacobs  are  bearing  fruit  in  these  later  days. 

GEORGE  P.  PERRY  of  Sterling,  Illinois,  at  the  State  Convention 
held  in  Danville,  Illinois,  in  1891,  delivered  an  address  on  the  Life  of 
Christ  using  a  large  chart  showing  many  of  the  principle  events  in  the 
Life  of  our  Lord,  thus  using  the  eye  as  well  as  the  ear  in  teaching  the 
great  truths  connected  with  the  Life  of  our  Lord.  Mr.  Perry  had  his 
chart  copyrighted  not  only  in  the  United  States  but  in  other  countries.  It 
is  a  great  help  in  teaching  the  Gospels.  It  enables  the  mind  to  fix  these 
great  truths  so  that  they  become  a  part  of  us.  Mr  Perry  has  perhaps 


graduated  more  normal  classes  in  -Bible  study  than  any  other  worker 
in  our  State.     He  surely  is  doing  a  fine  piece  of  work  for  the  Master.' 

MES.  ZILLAH  FOSTER  STEVENS,  late  of  Peoria  and  sister  of 
Mrs.  Mary  Foster  Bryner,  heard  the  Master's  gentle  whisper  "Come 
Home."  and  willingly  obeyed  His  Call  as  she  had  done  so  many  times 
before  in  His  work  in  which  she  was  so  deeply  interested  and  to  which 
she  devoted  so  much  time,  thought  and  study.  The  passion  to  save  the 
boys  and  girls  of  America  seemed  to  have  taken  absolute  possession  of 
her  and  everything  she  did  and  all  she  said  seemed  to  come  hot  from 
her  loving  heart.  She  had  her  own  way  of  saying  things  and  putting 
facts  together  so  that  when  she  had  ceased  to  speak  most  of  her  audience 
were  willing  to  say  "enough  said."  There  was  no  compromise — no 
side-stepping — nothing  but  the  absolute  overthrow  of  the  whole  evil  of 
intemperance  would  satisfy  her.  She  has  touched  a  wide  field  of  labor 
by  her  voice,  pen  and  personal  touch.  God  has  used  her  for  sowing  a 
harvest  in  righteous  living  that  will  be  petent,  not  only  in  her  own  city, 
State  and  Nation,  but  in  North  America  and  even  in  foreign  lands. 
The  World's  International  and  many  State  Associations  held  "her  in 
high  esteem  and  feel  her  loss  very  keenly  as  the  many  messages  of  con- 
dolence sent  to  the  family  on  the  announcement  of  her  "Home  Going" 
was  made  and  I  here  insert  just  a  very  few : 

Mr.  E.  K.  Warren :  "What  a  blessftig  she  has  been  to  others !  In 
her  quiet,  modest,  loving  way,  she  accomplished  a  great  work  for  Temper- 
ance through  the  Sunday  Schools  of  North  America." 

Mr  Wm.  Hamilton :  "Her  life  was  so  eminently  a  life  in  Christ, 
that  it  leaves  only  a  satisfaction  and  a  joy." 

Mr.  Frank  L.  Brown,  Secretary  of  The  World's  Sunday  School 
Association:  "The  impression  of  Mrs.  Stevens  on  the  life  of  this 
nation  will  be  more  evident  as  the  years  go  by." 

MES.  H.  M.  LEYDA  of  Chicago  was  the  Elementary  Superintend- 
ent of  our  Association  from  1907  to  1914  and  for  years  was  a  member 
of  the  State  Elementary  Committee.  She  and  her  good  husband  have 
recently  removed  to  Iowa  to  make  their  future  home.  She  will  be 
greatly  missed  by  the  Elementary  workers  in  all  parts  of  this  State. 
She  has  a  beautiful  spirit  and  personality  and  her  keen  mind  quickly 
grasps  the  important  points  of  an  address  or  a  proposition  and  she  has 
the  ability  to  express  herself  so  simply  that  anyone  can  fully  undersand 
her.  She  has  made  a  large  contribution  to  the  Elementary  work  in  our 
State  and  will  be  long  remembered  not  only  by  the  workers  but  by  the 
children  that  were  naturally  drawn  to  her. 

MISS  PEAEL  WEAVEE  of  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  was  unani- 
mously elected  Elementary  Superintendent  of  our  Association  by  our 
Executive  Committee  on  June  21,  1917,  to  succeed  Miss  Stooker  re- 
signed. Miss  Weaver  had  been  on  the  Staff  of  the  Indianapolis  Sun- 
day School  Association  for  several  years  and  was  eminently  successful 
in  her  work.  She  comes  to  us  with  accurate  knowledge,  not  only  of 
the  Elementary  Division,  but  every  phase  of  modern  Sunday  School 
work.  Under  her  able  administration  the  present  excellent  condition 
of  the  Elementary  work  in  this  State  will  be  maintained  and  strength- 


74 

ened.  She  began  her  work  September  1.  She  has  a  very  pleasing 
personality  and  makes  friends  easily  and  her  work  in  the  various  parts 
of  the  State  during  the  year  has  been  highly  appreciated  and  she  will 
be  of  great  assistance  not  only  to  the  General  Secretary,  Mr.  Schenck, 
but  to  all  the  workers  with  whom  she  comes  in  contact  in  the  various 
parts  of  the  State.  The  Association  is  to  be  congratulated  in  securing 
her.  Mrs.  Bryner  and  Miss  Weaver  are  friends  and  she  assures  the 
Elementary  workers  of  Illinois  that  Miss  Weaver  will  continue  the 
work  of  our  Elementary  Division  as  it  has  been  promoted  in  the  past 
twenty  years  by  such  splendid  women  as  Mrs.  Lamoreaux,  Mrs.  Hill, 
Mrs.  Leyda  and  Miss  Stooker. 

MISS  WILHELMINA  STOOKEE  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  on  Novem- 
ber, 1913,  accepted  the  call  to  the  position  of  Elementary  Superintendent 
of  our  Association,  but  owing  to  other  engagements  could  not  begin  her 
work  until  February  1,  1914.  She  was  a  native  of  Nebraska  and  was 
highly  recommended  by  Prof.  H.  M.  Steidley  and  Miss  Mamie  Haines, 
General  Secretary  and  Elementary  Superintendent,  respectively,  ;of 
Nebraska,  both  Illinois  products  of  Sunday  School  'experts.  Miss 
Stooker  was  finely  fitted  for  her  work  and  made  many  friends  through- 
out the  State  among  not  only  Elementary  workers,  but  persons 
engaged  in  other  parts  of  this  great  work.  At  the  Convention  at 
Kewanee  last  year  she  tendered  her  resignation  to  take  effect  June  1, 
which  at  her  earnest  request  and  our  general  regret  was  accepted.  She 
was  an  efficient  worker,  and  under  her  skillful  administration  that 
Division  made  rapid  advancement.  She  left  a  host  of  friends  in  this 
State  who  will  always  remember  her  with  kindliest  feelings. 

What  shall  I  say  of  that  great  host  of  faithful,  earnest,  devout  and 
consecrated  men  and  women  in  every  part  of  this  great  State  who  in  the 
hundred  years  last  past  have  given  their  very  best  service  to  this  great 
cause  in  the  redemption  of  the  manhood,  womanhood,  and  the  saving 
of  childhood  through  this  latest  and  best  method  that  our  Father  has 
given  His  children?  Many  of  their  names  do  not  appear  in  this  brief 
history,  but  they  are  all  written  in  His  greater  history  and  He  has  noted 
every  effort  that  has  been  set  forth,  every  helpful  ministry  that  has  been 
made,  every  word  of  encouragement  and  kindness  that  has  been  spoken 
to  even  one  of  the  least  of  His  children  has  been  treasured  and  will 
receive  its  compensation  and  reward. 

I  wish  I  had  the  time,  the  information,  and  ability  to  properly 
portray  every  name  and  sacrifice  of  every  Illinois  Sunday  School  worker 
in  the  advancement  of  the  Master's  cause  in  not  only  this  State,  but 
wherever  his  or  her  lot  has  been  cast  in  the  wide,  wide  world. 


One  hundred  years  were  spent  in  laying  the  foundation  of  the 
International  Lesson  System.  Like  all  great  movements,  the  system  is 
composite,  the  work  of  many  choice  and  master  spirits. 

The  successive  steps  leading  to  the  conception  and  adoption  of  the 
International  Lessons  may  be  summarized  as  follows: 


1.  The   spread  of  the  Eaikes   mission  schools  through   England, 
Wales,  Scotland  and  Ireland  in  which  the  poor  children,  under  hired 
teachers,  whose  sole  motive  was  to  teach  the  children  to  read  so  that  they 
might  read  the  Bible.     Their  method  was  secular,  their  motive  religious. 

2.  The  transplanting  of  the  Eaikes  idea  into  American  soil  and  its 
early  adoption  and  fostering  by  the  churches  as  a  part  of  its  specific 
work.     Its  growth  was  marvelous  in  its  new  environment. 

3.  Our  children  had  to  learn  to  read  like  those  of  the  British  Isles. 
Books  were  scarce  and  even  a  copy  of  the  Bible  was  not  found  in  many 
homes  and  it  soon  became  the  text  book  in  the  Sunday  School  and  they 
began  to  commit  to  memory  verses  from  the  Bible  and  these  verses  thus 
sown  in  the  hearts  of  the  children,  under  the  influence  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  began  to  grow  and  grip  the  lives  and  held  them  true  to  God  in 
the  strenuous  times  to  which  they  were  moving  under  the  guiding  Hand 
of  our  Father.     It  became  indeed  a  veritable  mania,  until  child  memory 
and  advanced  church  leadership  began  the  inevitable  recoil.    The  modern 
Sunday    School    has    lost   much    of   its    power   by   losing   out   of    its 
program  the  committing  to  memory  of  the  great  fundamental  principles 
of  the  truest  and  highest  that  are  contained  in  the  Book  of  Books.     Out 
of  this  reaction  irom  the  exclusive  memorization  however  came  the  first 
hint  of  our  International  System,     Many  men  and  women  whose  hearts 
God  had  touched  and  whose  eyes  He  opened  endeavored  to  evolve  some 
"Limited  Lesson"  or  "Selected  Lesson"  system  of  uniformity  in  the 
lessons  for  the  Sunday  School  and  it  resulted  in  1825  of  the  Sunday 
School  Union  starting  what  is  called  a  contemplated  plan  of  five  years 
of  forty  lessons  each.     So  well  was  this  plan  received  that  the  American 
Sunday  School  Magazine  in  1826  announced  that  most  of  the  schools 
had  adopted  it. ,  That  same  year  Eev.  Alfred  Judson  wrote  the  first 
question  book,  and  many  of  us  old  boys  and  girls  remember  the  old 
question  books,  but  whether  they  were  Judson's  or  some  other  we  are 
not  certain,  but  of  one  thing  we  are  certain  and  that  is  that  some  of 
those  pointed  questions  and  gripping  answers  became  a  sure  anchor  in 
our  young  lives. 

This  system  had  within  it  the  germ  of  four  ideas — a  selected  rather 
than  haphazard  portion  of  scripture  to  be  studied;  study,  rather  than 
mere  memorization;  one  lesson  for  the  entire  school;  and  help  for  the 
teachers  in  teaching — There  was  not  a  hint  of  general  uniformity. 

5.  In  1827  the  American   Sunday  School  Union,  formed  out  of 
six  denominations  viz.  Congregational,  Presbyterian,  Baptist,  Methodist,. 
Episcopal  and  Eeformed,  began  the  publication  of  its  annual  series  of 
question  books.     Some  of  these  books  gave  an  entire  year  to  a  single 
book  of  the  Bible,  others  presented  the  chronological  study  of  the  life 
of  Christ.     In  1869  an  "Explanatory  Question  Book"  was  added.     Noth- 
ing was  added  by  these  books  to  the  original  concept  of  the  author  of 
the  "Limited  Lesson"  scheme. 

6.  Orange  Judd,  the  publisher  of  the  American  Agriculturist,  did, 
in  1862,  take  an  advanced  step  by  the  addition  to  each  selected  lesson 
of  its  "connecting  history"  and  "analysis."     These  question  books  were 
prepared  under  his  direction  by  DT.  James  Strong  and  Mrs.  Dr.  Olin. 


76 

The  Methodist  Sunday  School  Union  adopted  the  series  at  the  request 
of  its  secretary  Dr.  Wise,  and  Mr.  Judd  generously  gave  to  it  his  copy- 
right. The  series  was  called  "Lessons  for  Every  Sunday  School  in  the 
Year"  and  2,000,000  copies  were  sold  between  1862  and  1865.  On 
the  covers  among  other  statements  about  the  series  were  the  words :  "in 
accordance  with  the  views  of  all  denominations."  The  publication  was 
discontinued  by  the  Methodist  Sunday  School  Union  after  1865  and. 
when  in  1866  Dr.  J.  H.  Vincent,  one  of  the  "Old  Guard  of  Illinois" 
was  chosen  Secretary  of  the  Union  he  at  once  substituted  his  own 
"B.erean  Lessons."  Dr.  Judd's  claim  for  his  system  was  that  it  was 
"in  accordance  with  the  views  of  all  denominations"  is  the  first  faint 
suggestion  of  interdenominational  uniformity.  The  suggestion  died 
at  the  moment  of  its  birth,  and  the  one  who,  destined  of  God,  was  to 
achieve  a  world-wide  uniformity,  in  Bible  study,  was  then  a  young 
business  man  on  South  Water  Street,  Chicago.  But  Judd's  suggestion 
may  have  been  and  perhaps  was  the  first  bold  work,  like  the  gun  at 
Concord,  has  been  "heard  round  the  world." 

7.  The  last  preparatory  step  toward  International  Lessons  was  taken 
in  Chicago.  The  Sunday  School  fires  were  blazing  all  over  Illinois,  per- 
haps with  most  intensity  in  Chicago — possibly  because  »of  its  proverbial 
"breeze."  The  Sunday  School  Convention  and  Institute  were  in  full 
blast.  Great  interdenominational  organizations  both  in  England  and 
America  caught  the  enthusiasm  and  National  Sunday  School  Con- 
ventions were  held  and  New  York  organized  its  State  Sunday  School 
Association  in  1854  and  Illinois  hers  in  1859.  It  surely  was  an  era 
of  Sunday  School  ideas  and  of  Sunday  School  giants;  Pardee,  Wells, 
Stuart,  and  McCook  in  the  east;  Moody,  Vincent,  Jacobs,  Eeynolds, 
Whittle,  Farwell,  Eggleston,  Hazard  and  Blackall  in  the  west  were 
stirring  the  hearts  of  many  conventions.  Vincent  and  Jacobs,  then 
in  the  early  vigor  of  young  manhood,  "Were  Sunday  School  Siamese 
twins  of  Chicago."  Vincent  did  the  thinking  and  teaching  and 
finally  the  publishing;  Jacobs  did  the  thinking  and  planning  and 
finally  the  achieving.  Vincent  organized  the  first  normal  class  in  the 
world  during  his  pastorate  at  Joliet  in  1857.  He  held  the  first  Sunday 
School  Institute  in  the  world  at  Freeport,  in  1861.  He  organized  the 
earliest  system  of  Sunday  School  Institutes  in  Northern  Illinois  and  in 
Chicago.  He  published  the  Sunday  School  Teacher,  and  in  1866  it 
contained  the  first  of  a  newly  conceived  series  of  lessons  entitled  "Two 
years  with  Jesus — A  New  System  of  Sunday  School  Study."  Edu- 
cationally, it  was  a  phenominal  advance  upon  all  other  systems.  Dr. 
Hamill  said:  "Side  by  side  the  teacher's  helps  and  scholar's  lesson- 
leaves,  now  published  by  the  millions,  there  is  nothing  finer,  edu- 
cationally, in  method  or  matter,  than  Vincent's  "Two  years  with  Jesus," 
issued  a  generation  ago." 

After  1865  the  events  leading  up  to  the  adoption  of  the  Inter- 
national lessons  crowded  thick  and  fast.  4,000  copies  of  the  "Teacher" 
and  20,000  of  the  scholar's  "question  paper"  were  published  in  1866. 
Dr.  Vincent  that  year  severed  his  connections  with  these  publications 
and  became  the  newly  appointed  secretary  of  the  Methodist  Union  and 


the  same  year  began  the  publication  of  his  "Berean  Lessons"  for  his 
great  denomination.     Eev.  H.  L.  Hammond,  Dr.  C.  E.  Blackall  and  Rev. 
Edward  Eggleston,  a  brilliant  young  Methodist  preacher  and  an  ardent 
Sunday  School  worker,  followed  each  other  as  Dr.  Vincent's  successors; 
the  last  of  the  three  in  four  years  from  his  beginning  in  1867  had 
secured  a  monthly  circulation  of  35,000  for  his  paper  and  350,000  for 
the  scholar's  lesson  leaf.     So  swift  was  the  spread  of  the  lessons  that 
he  changed  the  name  of  his  paper  in  1869  to  the  "National  Sunday 
School  Teacher."     While  his  paper  was  leading  the  way  to  national 
uniformity  Eggleston  himself  from  first  to  last  was  strongly  opposed 
to  the  idea  of  uniformity  as  harmful  to  the  Sunday   Schools.     His 
splendid  contribution  to  modern-  Sunday  School  progress  were  centered 
on  and  designed  for  the  Individual  school.     B.  F.  Jacobs,  with  eyes 
touched  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  saw  the  nobler  vision.     He  was  the  first 
Sunday  School  expansionist.     Holy  fire  burned  within  him.     Catching 
the  inspiration  from  Vincent  and  Eggleston  lesson  suggestion  his  largest 
vision  took  in  the  wide,  world.     He  wrote,  "The  Lesson  is  not  for 
Sunday  Schools  of  this  locality  only,  or  for  this  or  that  denomination, 
for  the  schools  of  this  country  only;  but,  blessed  be  God,  we  hope,  for 
the  world."     Such  was  his  war  cry,  never  for  a  monment  intermitted 
until  the  final  act  of  the  Indianapolis  Convention.     He  began  a  new 
venture  in  1868  writing  a  weekly  exposition  of  the  Eggleston  lessons 
in  the  "Chicago  Baptist  Standard/'     Un'der  his  influence,  in  a  little 
while,  five  Baptist  weeklies  were  doing  the  same.     He  began  teaching 
the    Sunday    School   lesson   at  the    Ch'icago    "noon   prayer   meeting." 
reports  of  which  were  prepared  by  Dr.  M.  C.  Hazard  and  published  in 
the  Chicago  Advance  under  the  editorship  of  Dr.  Simeon  Gilbert  and 
widely  read.     Mr.  Jacobs  pleaded  for  three  things :     one  and  the  same 
lesson  for  the  whole  school;  one  uniform  lesson  for  all  schools  world- 
wide ;  expositions  for  the  lessons  in  all  papers,  that  could  be  persuaded  to 
give  them.     In  1868  Mr.  Jacobs  presented  his  international  and  inter- 
denominational uniform  plan  before  the  Illinois  and  New  York  Con- 
ventions.    The  fourth  National  Convention  after  an   interim  of  ten 
years  met  in  April,  1869,  in  Newark,  N.  J.,  under  the  presidency  of 
George  H.  Stuart.     Enroute  to  the  convention  Mr.  Jacobs  urged  his 
uniform  plan  upon  a  meeting  of  the  New  York  Sunday  School  Teachers' 
Association.     He  was  made  chairman  of  the  Superintendent's  section 
in  the  Newark  Convention  and  secured  the  endorsement  of  his  plan  by 
three-fourths   of   the   superintendents,   reporting  to   the   convention   a 
resolution  from  his  section  that  "it  is  practical  and  desirable  to  unite 
all  the  schools  of  our  whole  country  upon  one  and  the  same  series." 
The  convention  was  ripe  for  the  adoption  of  the  plan  but  Mr.  Jacobs 
opposed  hasty  action  on  the  ground  that  many  publishers  and  writers 
of  lesson  series  were  not  yet  ready  for  uniformity.     In  1870  'thirty  or 
more  publications  contained  lesson  notes  and  expositions  upon  as  many 
as  a  half  score  independent  series;  those  of  Eggleston  in  the  Chicago 
"National  :  Teacher"    and    Dr.    Vincent's    "Berean"    being   largely   in 
advance  in  patronage  and  prestige. 


78 

The  National  Executive  Committee  met  in  New  York,  July,  1871, 
to  plan  for  the  fifth  National  Convention  of  1872  in  Indianapolis. 
Mr.  Jacobs  urged  them  to  instant  action,  as  far  as  practicable,  upon  the 
question  of  uniformity.  The  committee  decided  to  call  a  meeting  of  all 
the  lesson  publishers  and  writers  in  New  York  for  the  8th  of  August, 
1871.  On  the  day  appointed,  under  Mr.  Jacobs'  leadership  twenty- 
nine  publishers  and  writers  came  together  to  consider  the  question  of 
National  Uniformity.  It  was  a  notable  meeting.  "To  these  men,  the 
adoption  of  Mrk  Jacobs'  plan  meant  the  sacrifice  of  copyrights,  plates, 
already  prepared  and  popular  schemes  of  study,  aggregating  in  value 
many  thousands  of  dollars.  It  meant  far  more  than  this,  something 
that  money  cannot  buy,  and  which  true  men  hold  priceless,  the  pride 
of  ownership,  the  joy  of  authorship,  the  consciousness  of  merited  success, 
the  sense  of  leadership  and  power.  No  severer  test  could  have  been 
applied."  They  might  have  said  "Why  follow  this  Chicago  enthusiast? 
He  has  everything  to  gain  and  nothing  to  lose  ?  What  profit  or  wisdom 
is  there  in  tearing  down  the  splendid  work  we  have  builded  to  place  his 
castles  in  the  air?  Why  burn  the  bridge  behind  us  to  follow  this 
dreamer?  What  they  did  is  well  worth  remembering.  They  decided 
by  a  vote  of  26  to  3  to  appoint  a  committee  TO  SELECT  A  LIST  OF 
LESSONS  FOR  THE  FOLLOWING  YEAR  1872..  Jacobs,  Vincent, 
Eggleston,  Newton  and  Dr.  H.  C.  McCook  were  appointed  as  that  com- 
mittee. On  adjournment  of  the  publishers  meeting  at  3  o'clock  p.  m. 
this  lesson  committee  was  immediately  convened,  and  Dr.  Vincent  urged 
that  the  lessons  be  at  once  outlined.  Jacobs  and  Newton  were  compelled 
to  leave  the  City  for  the  day,  promising  to  return  the  next  morning. 
It  was  agreed  that  the  three  remaining  members,  Vincent,  Eggleston  and 
McCook,  should  begin  the  selection  of  the  course  for  1872  under  the 
instructions  given  by  the  publishers.  After  the  others  were  gone  these 
three  men  met,  conferred  together,  and  discussed  the  proposition  in 
general,  then  prepared  and  mailed  that  same  night  to  the  various  papers 
for  publication  the  following  card : 

"UNIFORM  LESSONS— THE  FAILURE." 

"The  undersigned,  having  been  appointed  at  the  conference  held 
at  the  call  of  the  National  Executive  Committee,  a  committee  to  select 
a  course  of  lessons  for  the  whole  Sunday  School  public,  find  it  impossible 
at  this  late  day  to  select  a  list  of  subjects  acceptable  to  all,  or  creditable 
enough  to  put  the  experiment  on  a  fair  basis.  The  compromise  necessary 
to  effect  a  union  at  this  moment  renders  it  out  of  the  question  to  get  a 
good  list,  and  with  the  most  entire  unanimity  we  agree  that  it  is  best  to 
defer  action  until  the  matter  shall  have  been  discussed  in  the  National 
Convention. 

(Signed)     "EDWARD  EGGLESTON, 
"J.  H.  VINCENT, 
"HENRY  C.  McCooK, 
"New  York,  August  8,  1871." 


79 

Noting  the  fact  that  the  three  men  signing  and  sending  forth  this 
card  were  the  authors  of  the  three  most  popular  and  widely  used  lesson 
schemes — Eggleston's  in  the  "Teacher/'  Vincent's  "Berean,"  and  Dr. 
McCook's  "Presbyterian  Lessons" — and  that  the  performance  of  the  duty 
put  upon  them  by  the  publishers  meant  the  sacrifice  of  their  study- 
schemes  and  the  adoption  of  a  new  system,  to  be  directed  by  other  men  and 
no  longer  under  their  own  personal  control  or  bearing  their  names,  their 
action  was  certainly  human  and  therefore  condonable  to  all  except  those 
who  have  never  blundered  or  come  short  of  duty.  But  it  was  not 
business.  Their  duty  was  to  select  lessons,  not  to  proclaim  failure. 
Mr.  Lyon,  one  of  the  three  publishers  of  the  Eggleston  lessons,  with 
finer  sense  of  duty  than  his  editor,  at  once  telegraphed  Jacobs  at  Long 
Branch.  Mr.  Jacobs  hurriedly  telegraphed  Dr.  Vincent  to  meet  him 
the  next  morning  in  New  York.  "The  card  must  be  recalled,  and  the 
committee  must  do  its  work,"  were  his  words.  The  meeting  of  the 
committee,  Mr.  Newton  excepted,  was  held  the  next  morning.  Dr. 
Vincent  frankly  admitted  that  a  mistake  had  been  made.  Dr.  Eggleston 
followed  his  example.  The  following  card  then  written  by  Dr.  Vincent 
was  duly  signed  by  all  but  Dr.  Me  Cook,  who  was  present  but  declined 
to  reconsider  the  action  of  the  day  before,  and  was  sent  to  the  papers 
to  which  the  "failure  card"  had  been  addressed: 

"The  undersigned  desire  to  recall  the  circular  forwarded  yesterday, 
entitled  'Uniform  Lessons — The  Failure.'  We  desire  to  state  that  having 
reconsidered  the  whole  subject,  we  have  agreed  upon  a  series  for  1872. 
Will  you  accommodate  the  Committee  by  withholding  the  publication 
of  the  former  circular?  A  list  of  lessons  for  1872  will  be  forwarded 
soon. 

"EDWARD  EGGLESTON, 
"J.   H,   VINCENT, 
"B.   F.  JACOBS." 

The  lessons  for  1872  were  selected,  comprising  two  quarters  of  the 
Eggleston  outlines  already  announced,  one  from  the  Berean,  and  one 
selected  by  the  committee  of  three.  Such  is  the  history  of  the  first 
tentative  national  or  international  course. 

The  climax  came  the  following  year,  1872,  at  Indianapolis,  in  the 
formal  adoption  by  the  Fifth  National  Convention  of  the  Jacobs'  plan 
of  uniformity.  Dr.  P.  G.  Gillett  of  Jacksonville  was  the  president  of 
the  convention  and  it  has  ever  since  stood  out  as  a  very  notable  one. 
Twenty-two  states  and  one  territory  were  represented  by  338  delegates, 
besides  men  from  Canada,  Great  Britain  and  India.  Communications 
were  received  from  leading  workers  in  Scotland,  France,  Switzerland 
and  Holland.  Dr.  H.  C.  Trumbull  of  the  Sunday  School  Times  was 
secretary  of  the  convention.  The  giants  were  all  there.  Much  of  the 
time  of  the  convention  was  given  to  the  discussion  of  the  one  supreme 
question. 

Mr.  Jacobs  introduced  the  following  resolution : 

"Resolved,  That  this  Convention  appoint  a  committee  to  consist  of 
five  clergymen  and  five  laymen,  to  select  a  course  of  Bible  lessons  for 


80 

a  series  of  years  not  exceeding  seven,  which  shall,  as  far  as  they  may 
decide  possible,  embrace  a  general  study  of  the  whole  Bible,  alternating 
between  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  semi-annually  or  quarterly,  as  they 
shall  deem  best ;  and  to  publish  a  list  of  such  lessons  as  fully  as  possible, 
and  at  least  for  the  two  years  next  ensuing,  as  early  as  the  first  of  August, 
1872;  and  that  this  Convention  recommend  their  adoption  by  the  Sun- 
day Schools  of  the  whole  country;  and  that  this  committee  have  power 
to  fill  any  vacancies  that  may  occur  in  their  number  by  reason  of  the 
inability  of  any  member  to  serve." 

Jacobs  led  the  memorable  discussion  with  five  clean-cut  points: 
That  such  uniformity  would  be  better  for  the  scholars,  for  the  teachers, 
for  the  parents,  for  the  pastors,  and  for  the  lesson  writers.  Dr.  Eggleston 
opposed  the  resolution  strongly,  declaring  that  it  was  a  "movement 
backward."  Dr.  Vincent  was  finally  called  to  the  platform  and  said: 
"A  year  ago  I  opposed  the  scheme  of  national  uniformity.  To-day  I 
am  thoroughly  converted  to  the  other  side."  And  declared  that  he  was 
so  completely  converted  that  although  his  denomination  was  now  in  the 
sixth  year  of  the  Berean  system,  they  were  ready  to  break  every  stereo- 
type plate,  abandon  their  selections,  and  begin  de  novo,  on  the  broadest 
platform. 

The  resolution  of  Mr.  Jacobs  was  adopted  with  a  dissenting  minor- 
ity of  only  ten  votes.  The  convention  midst  great  enthusiasm  sang  the 
D'oxology.  Mr.  Jacobs  asked  that  the  brethren  of  the  British  Provinces 
appoint  a  committee  of  conference  with  the  Lesson  Committee  named 
by  the  .Convention.  The  convention  appointed  the  first  lesson  com- 
mittee as  follows:  Clergymen,  Rev.  J.  H.  Vincent,  D.  D.,  New  Jersey, 
Methodist;  Rev.  John  Hall,  D.  D.,  New  York,  Presbyterian;  Eev. 
Warren  Eandolph,  D.  D.,  Pennsylvania,  Baptist;  Rev.  Richard  Newton, 
D.  D.,Pennsylvania,  Episcopal;  Rev.  A.  L.  Chapin,  L.  L.  D.,  Wisconsin, 
Congregational.  Laymen,  Prof.  P.  G.  Gillett,  L.  D.  D.,  Illinois,  Meth- 
odist; George  H.  Stuart,  Pennsylvania,  Presbyterian;  B.  F.  Jacobs, 
Illinois,  Baptist;  Alexander  G.  Tyng,  Illinois  Episcopalian;  Henry  P. 
Haven,  Connecticut,  Congregational.  Canadian  members  were  added 
later,  as  follows:  Rev.  J.  Munro  Gibson,  D.  D.,  Quebec,  Presbyterian; 
A.  MacAllum,  Ontario,  Methodist. 

Jacobs'  long  dream  was  realized.  The  vision  he  had  seen  upon  the 
mount  had  become  incarnate.  If  ever  the  future  historian  of  the  Church 
shall  suspend  his  pen,  in  doubt  as  to  whose  brow  the  laurel  should  adorn 
for  the  discovery  or  invention  of  the  International  Lessons,  as  a  world- 
wide system  of  uniformity  in  Bible  study,  he  is  referred  to  the  following 
testimonies,  given  in  the  heat  of  the  battle  long  ago  by  the  two  men 
who  of  all  others  knew  most  of  the  inception,  progress  and  final  success 
of  the  great  movement,  and  who  in  pocket  and  prestige,  as  natural 
business  competitors  of  the  movement,  sacrificed  most  by  its  adoption! 

Edward  Eggleston,  in  the  April  "Teacher"  of  1870,  wrote: 
"Recently  a  Synod  in  New  York,  and  members  of  the  Brooklyn  Sunday 
School  Union,  and  Mr.  Tyler  in  the  Independent,  and  Mr.  Vincent, 
have  all  talked  of  uniformity;  but  we  give  fair  warning  if  the  blessed 
time  ever  does  come  when  all  the  children  study  one  lesson,  we  shall 


.      81 

give  the  credit  to  B.  F.  Jacobs;  he,  and  no  one  else,  is  the  'original 
Jacobs !" 

•  Bishop  John  H.  Vincent,  in  his  "Modern  Sunday  School,"  published 
in  1887,  wrote:  "While  the  author  claims  the  honor  of  having  orig- 
inated the  two  great  lesson  systems — the  National  (of  Chicago)  and 
Berean  (of  New  York) — in  1868  respectively,  and  of  having  prepared 
and  published  the  first  of  the  now  popular  'lesson  leaves/  all  of  which 
made  possible  the  conception  of  a  'National  System,'  it  is  to  B.  F. 
Jacobs,  of  Chicago,  that  the  honor  of  the  conception  belongs.  And  to 
him,  moreover,  belongs  the  honor  of  having  secured  the  experiment 
when  the  'odds'  were  against  him." 

From  the  time  of  their  adoption,  the  International  Lessons  have 
been  under  the  fire  of  criticism.  The  Lesson  Committees  have  invited 
criticism  and  have  profited  by  them.  They  have  taken  these  criticisms  on 
the  theory  that  the  critics  were  honest  and  have  thoroughly  tested  the  sug- 
gestions and  if  they  stood  the  tests,  they  were  used,  but  if  not,  the  com- 
mittees have  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  the  criticism  was  harmless. 
One  of  the  most  persistent  criticisms  has  been  that  the  system  is  "scrappy," 
"fragmentary"  of  "a  hop-skip-and-jump"  or  even  the  "kangaroo"  system. 
If  those  critics  had  closely  studied  the  "Old  Book"  of  the  Sunday  School 
they  would  have  found  that  the  Bible  moves  by  great  leaps.  Genesis 
with  only  50  chapters  covers  a  period  of  2,500  years  of  the  most  im- 
portant personages  and  great  events,  even  on  the  theory  that  the  creation 
was  4,000  B.  C.,  but  if  our  scientific  friends  are  correct  and  that  from 
creation  to  Christ  was  one  of  time  then  the  difficulties  are  increased  for 
the  critics.  "The  Acts  of  the  Apostles"  covers  a  generation  of  time 
and  warrants  the  conquests  of  Christianity  and  yet  the  record  passes  over 
in  almost  perfect  silence  8  of  the  12  apostles.  Another  objection  to 
the  International  lessons  is  that  it  is  folly  to  set  the  child,  the  youth 
and  the  adults  at  study  upon  the  same  Bible  lesson.  If  suited  to  the 
child  it  is  unsuited  to  the  adult.  I  don't  think  that  necessarily  follows. 
I  have  children  and  grandchildren  and  these  after  a  certain  age  sit 
around  the  family  table  and  partake  of  the  same  food.  Some  ministers 
were  trying  to  define  "Faith"  in  a  certain  home  where  there  was  a  small 
girl ;  the  preachers  discussed  the  matter  for  considerable  time,  and  when 
one  would  suggest  a  definition  another  would  immediately  pick  it  to 
pieces.  After  the  learned  gentlemen  had  finished  their  meal  and  had 
retired  to  another  part  of  the  house,  the  little  girl  spoke  up  and  said: 
"I  know  what  "faith"  is."  The  ministers  said:  "What  do  you  say 
Faith  means  ?"  The  child  replied :  "It  means  taking  God  at  his  word 
and  asking  no  questions."  Now  I  submit  that  no  theologian  can  give 
a  more  complete  and  scientific  definition,  and  the  more  you  try  to  pick 
it  to  pieces  the  more  securely  it  pulls  together.  If  more  of  us  grown-ups 
would  apply  the  same  rule  to  much  that  we  quibble  and  haggle  about 
in  the  Old  Book  we  would  be  much  happier  and  the  upward  pull  of  our 
lives  would  be  far  more  powerful. 

Some  of  the  denominations  are  beginning  to  treat  the  International 
Lessons  now  for  the  entire  school.     Grade  the  treatment  and  not  the 
text.     But  the  Sunday  School  work  is  no  place  for  captious,  carping 
— 6  S  S  H 


82 

criticism.  Select  the  best  you  can  find  for  the  needs  of  your  class  or 
school  and  then  make  it  a  part  of  your  very  life  and  out  of  the  deepest 
depths  of  your  being  teach  each  lesson,  realizing  that  you  must  give  an 
account  of  that  hour's  work,  and  live  the  kind  of  a  life  you  want  your 
scholars  to  live  and  the  kind  you  will  wish  you  had  lived  when  the  Books 
are  Opened. 

THE  INTERNATIONAL  GRADED  LESSONS. 

The  idea  of  graded  lessons  evolved  with  the  Sunday  School.  Even 
before  the  adoption  of  the  uniform  lesson  in  1872,  there  were  quite  a 
number  of  graded  lessons  issued  and  used  in  America.  So  strong  was 
the  pressure  for  the  uniform  lesson  at  the  Indianapolis  Convention  in 
1872,  that  the  vote  for  such  lesson  as  against  the  graded  system  was 
carried  in  spite  of  the  strong  and  determined  opposition.  The  great 
success  of  the  uniform  lesson  for  perhaps  fifteen  years  seemed  to  be  so 
strong  that  little  was  heard  of  the  revival  of  the  graded  lesson.  Strong 
and  vigorous  criticisms  were  made  of  the  uniform  lessons  and  only 
partially  answered  by  the  comment  writers  who  prepared  the  graded 
lessons  on  the  scripture  being  intended  for  different  departments  of  the 
school.  Rev.  Erastus  Blakeslee  promulgated  a  series  of  inductive 
graded  lessons  which,  in  the  opinion  of  many  elementary  workers,  was 
not  found  in  the  uniform  lessons. 

Dr.  C.  R.  Blackall,  one  of  the  Old  Guard  of  Illinois  and  later  of  the 
American  Baptist  Publication  Society  in  Indianapolis,  issued  in  1893 
lesson  quarterlies  which  were  the  outgrowth  of  the  uniform  lessons. 
While  this  was  utilized  largely  by  his  denomination,  it  was  not  perman- 
ently successful. 

In  1893  at  the  Seventh  International  Convention  at  St.  Louis 
through  the  leadership  of  Mr.  Israel  P.  Black  and  Mrs.  M.  G.  Kennedy, 
backed  by  a  strong  company  of  primary  teachers,  passed  the  following 
resolution:  "That  as  a  company  of  primary  teachers  we  earnestly 
desire  the  continuance  of  this  plan  (the  Uniform  system),  confident 
that  the  International  Lesson  Committee  will  carefully  consider  the  little 
children  in  the  selection  of  the  lesson  material."  The  lesson  committee 
took  the  resolution  in  the  spirit  in  which  it  was  given. 

The  Lesson  Committee,  at  a  meeting  in  Boston  in  December,  1893, 
prepared  and  issued  a  circular  inviting  suggestions  from  Sunday-school 
workers  and  organizations  as  to  best  method  of  promoting  the  Inter- 
national Lesson  System.  Some  of  the  points  mentioned  in  the  circular 
were :  "Separate  Lessons  for  the  Primary  Classes ;  2.  Lessons  for  Adult 
and  University  Classes;  3.  Graded  Lessons;  4.  Lessons  not  in  the  Bible, 
but  about  the  Bible." 

The  idea  of  the  graded  lesson  dated  back  as  early  as  1870  to 
organization  in  Newark,  N.  J.,  called  "The  Newark  Association  of 
Infant  Class  Sunday  School  Teachers,"  under  the  leadership  of  Mrs. 
Samuel  W.  Clark,  the  mother  of  Dr.  Joseph  Clark,  formerly  General 
Secretary  of  the  Ohio  Association,  but  now  the  General  Secretary  of  the 
New  York  Association,  who  is  also  known  as  "Timothy  Standby"  of 


83 

these  modern  times.  For  ten  years  she  trained  and  guided  these 
Primary  workers,  using  at  first  her  own  lessons  and  then  the  Berean 
Series.  In  the  early  nineties  Mrs.  J.  W.  Barnes,  the  Elementary  Sec- 
retary of  the  International  Sunday  School  Association  and  Miss  Jose- 
phine Baldwin,  were  found  among  its  corps  of  primary  teachers.  In 
1894  Miss  Bertha  F.  Vella,  on  the  suggestion  of  the  Lesson  Committee, 
sent  out  a  circular  to  all  Primary  Union  lesson  writers  and  teachers 
suggesting  that  a  series  of  questions  should  be  submitted  to  the  Lesson 
Committee  at  its  meeting  in  Philadelphia,  March  14,  1894.  Several 
hundred  replies  were  made  and  at  the  meeting  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee of  the  International  Primary  Teachers  Union  in  March,  1894, 
they  adopted  the  following  resolution:  "That  we  recommend  to  the 
Lesson  Committee  now  in  session  in  Philadelphia,  that  they  select  a 
separate  International  Lesson  for  the  Primary  Department,  to  begin 
January  1,  1896,  and  that  it  consist  of  one-half  the  length  of  time  used 
to  cover  the  regular  course;  (2)  that  it  is  the  judgment  of  the  Executive 
Committee  of  the  International  Union  of  Primary  Sabbath  School 
Teachers  that  this  separate  and  special  Primary  course  should  be  in 
addition  to  the  regular  course,  and  shall  not  interfere  with  the  present 
lesson  helps,  which  are  prepared  for  the  Primary  Department,  but  it 
shall  be  optional  for  each  denomination  to  prepare  helps  for  the  Primary 
Department,  as  at  present  upon  this  course,  and  it  shall  be  optional  for 
each  school  to  adopt  this  course ;"  these  resolutions  were  signed  by  Mrs. 
M.  G.  Kennedy,  Mrs.  S.  W.  Clark,  Mrs.  James  .S.  Ostrander,  Israel  P. 
Black  and  Wm.  N.  Hartshorn. 

On  the  next  day,  at  the  invitation  of  the  Lesson  Committee,  repre- 
sentatives of  several  organizations  and  of  denominational  publishing 
houses,  editors,  -Sunday-school  officers  and  workers,  met  with  the  Com- 
mittee to  discuss  the  various  matters  pertaining  to  said  Lessons.  Dr. 
C.  E.  Blackall  strongly  favored  the  issuance  of  the  Graded  Lessons. 
Mr.  Black  presented  the  above  resolutions  which  was  earnestly  endorsed 
by  Mrs.  Kennedy  and  Mr  Hartshorn. 

The  Lesson  Committee  appointed  a  special  committee  of  three, 
B.  F.  Jacobs,  Prof.  J.  D.-S.  Hinds  and  Dr.  Warren  Eandolph,  "to  confer 
with  the  International  Primary  Teachers  Union,  with  lesson  publishers 
who  already  have  separate  Primary  courses,  with  the  Correspondence 
Committee  in  London,  and  with  such  others  as  they  may  select,  to  pro- 
cure outlines  of  a  Primary  course  to  be  submitted  to  the  whole  Lesson 
Committee,  to  assist  them  in  making  up  a  separate  Primary  course." 

Such  a  course  was  formally  issued  in  the  fall  of  1895,  described 
as  the  Optional  Primary  Lessons  for  1896.  Several  courses  of  Lessons 
for  the  beginners  were  published,  but  none  were  entirely  satisfactory, 
yet  their  favor  continued  to  grow  and  increase  and  at  a  conference  of 
the  Lesson  Committee  in  Philadelphia,  March  17,  1897,  of  Sunday- 
school  specialists,  publishers,  editors,  comment  writers,  teachers  and 
others  was  held  and  many  suggestions  made  in  reference  to  the  various 
courses  of  lessons.  A  special  committee  consisting  of  Messrs.  Schauffler, 
Pepper,  Itexford,  Jacobs,  and  Dunning,  was  appointed  and  at  the  con- 


84 

vention  at  Atlanta  the  committee  reported  that  is  could  not  at  present 

unite  on  any  separate  plan  of  lessons  for  primary  classes  which  would 

be  generally  accepted  in  connection  with  the  International  Lesson  System. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Lesson  Committee  in  New  York,  April  25, 

1900,  a  standing  Subcommittee  on  Graded  Lessons  was  appointed  con- 
sisting of  Drs.  Schauffler,  Potts,  and  Hinds,  and  on  April  16,  1901,  the 
Editorial  Association,  an  organization  of  editors,  publishers,  and  com- 
ment writers,  was  formed  in  New  York  City  for  the  purpose  of  advo- 
cating a  separate  course  of  lessons  for  one  year,  for  beginners  in  Bible 
study,  of  six  years  and  under  and  for  a  further  course  of  two  years  that 
shall  be  topical  and  historical,  for  the  adult  or  Senior  classes.     These 
resolutions  were  signed  by  M.  C.  Hazard,  C.  K.Blackall,  W.  J.  Semelroth, 
and  J.  A.  McKamy. 

The  resolutions  so  impressed  the  Lesson  Committee  that  it  appointed 
two  subcommittees:  (1)  Drs.  Dunning,  Schauffler,  and  Sampey  to  pre- 
pare a  two  years'  course  for  advanced  students;  (2)  Drs.  Schauffler, 
Hinds,  and  Rexford,  and  Messrs.  Jacobs  and  Pepper  to  prepare  a 
Beginners'  Course  of  one  year.  At  the  same  time  Dr.  Potts,  the  chair- 
man of  the  Committee,  was  requested  to  confer  with  the  British  Section 
on  the  new  departure. 

A  Beginners'  Course  for  one  year,  prepared  by  a  joint  committee 
of  the  Lesson  Committee  and  the  Primary  Union,  was  issued  December. 

1901,  and  soon  used  in  many  schools. 

At  the  Denver  Convention  in  June,  1902,  the  advocates  of  the 
Uniform  Lessons  and  the  Graded  Lessons  again  were  in  conflict.  The 
Lesson  Committee  reported  that  one  of  its  subcommittees  had  prepared 
an  advanced  course  of  Lessons,  and  that  it  was  ready  for  publication  at 
the  option  of  the  convention.  This  caused  much  discussion  and  the  con- 
vention finally  passed  the  following  resolutions:  (1)  Resolved,  that 
the  following  plan  of  lesson  selection  shall  be  observed  by  the  Lesson 
Committee  to  be  selected  (chosen)  by  this  Convention.  One  Uniform 
Lesson  for  all  grades  of  the  Sunday-school  shall  be  selected  by  the  Lesson 
Committee,  as  in  accordance  with  the  usage  of  the  past  five  Lesson 
Committees;  provided,  that  the  Lesson  Committee  be  authorized  to 
issue  an  optional  beginners'  course  for  special  demands  and  uses,  such 
optional  course  not  to  bear  the  official  of  'International  Lesson.'  " 
(2)  Eesolved,  that  at  this  time  we  are  not  prepared  to  adopt  a  series 
of  advanced  lessons  to  take  the  place  of  Uniform  Lessons  in  the  adult 
grade  of  the  Sunday  School."  The  elementary  workers  in  the  Denver 
Convention  tendered  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  Lesson  Committee  for  the 
one  year  Beginners'  Course. 

At  the  Lesson  Committee's  meeting  in  Washington,  D.  C.,  April 
15,  1903,  the  Subcommittee  appointed  at  Denver  reported  that  it  had 
completed  the  two  years'course,  after  much  conference  and  correspond- 
ence with  the  Primary  teachers  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  and  the 
course  was  adopted  and  designated  as  an  "Optional  Two  Years'  Course 
for  Beginners." 


85 

A  conference  of  the  International  Executive  Committee,  the  Edi- 
torial Association,  and  other  Sunday-school  workers,  was  called  and 
met  at  Winona,  Indiana,  in  August,  1903.  The  publishers  had  pre- 
pared for  this  meeting  by  sending  out  a  circular  proposing  the  discussion 
of  the  question:  "Which  is  better,  an  International  Lesson,  uniform 
for  all  grades,  or  an  International  Lesson  uniform,  within  certain 
defined  grades?"  These  questions  aroused  great  interest  at  the  con- 
ference and  a  frank  and  a  full  discussion  was  had  of  the  entire  Graded 
Lesson  idea.  Even  in  the  earnest  discussion  of  these  questions,  every 
one  conceded  the  necessity  of  retaining  the  Uniform  Lessons  for  the 
majority  of  Sunday  Schools.  At  the  International  Convention  at  Tor- 
onto, in  June,  1905,  the  Elementary  workers  sent  a  message  of  thanks 
to  the  Committee  for  the  Beginner's  Course  and  requested  the  prepara- 
tion of  a  Primary  Course  as  soon  as  possible.  The  convention  adopted 
the  recommendation  that  the  Lesson  Committee  be  authorized  to  prepare 
an  Advanced  or  Senior  course.  The  Lesson  Committee  appointed  Drs. 
Schauffler,  Sampey  and  Eexf ord  to  prepare  such  a  course. 

The  first  series  prepared  by  this  committee  was  not  satisfactory  to 
the  Editorial  Association.  In  response  to  this  treatment  the  Subcom- 
mittee asked  for  suggestions  from  the  Association.  After  considerable 
examination,  the  Subcommittee  did  not  adopt  any  of  the  suggestions, 
but  decided  to  prepare  another  course  for  1907  on  "The  Ethical  Teach- 
ing of  Jesus,"  as  an  advanced  course  in  accordance  with  the  resolution 
of  the  Toronto  Convention.  The  denominational  publishers  manifested 
little  interest  in  such  a  course.  Some  adult  classes  used  the  Lesson 
Committee's  lists  without  any  published  helps.  The  Lesson  Committee 
also  prepared  and  issued  advanced  courses  for  the  years  1908  and  1909, 
but  the  publishers  either  neglected  or  refused  to  publish  the  same. 

In  August^  1906,  the  International  Executive  Committee  gave  Mrs. 
J.  W.  Barnes,  the  Elementary  Superintendent  of  the  International  Asso- 
ciation, considerable  freedom  in  working  out  a  plan  of  graded  lessons. 
She  was  instructed  to  cooperate  with  the  Lesson  Committee  and  editors 
and  others  in  the  preparation  of  such  lessons  and  to  report  to  the 
Primary  Committee  of  the  Executive  Committee  any  findings  which 
she  might  have  for  their  consideration  and  approval. 

In  order  to  secure  the  united  action  toward  a  common  goal,  Mrs. 
Barnes  called  together  and  organized  at  Newark,  N.  J.  in  October,  1906, 
a  group  of  Elementary  workers  who  were  especially  interested  in  the 
Graded  Lessons.  These  workers  were  from  different  denominations 
and  of  manifested,  intense  interest  in  their  work  and  were  designated 
afterwards  as  the  "Graded  Lesson  Conference." 

This  conference  invited  the  Lesson  Committee  to  select  a  committee 
"to  assist,  supervise,  or  make  suggestions"  regarding  the  conduct  of 
this  conference.  The  conference  decided  that  its  task  should  be  the 
preparation  of  these  for  the  Primary  and  Junior  grades,  together  with 
a  revision  of  the  Beginners'  Course  then  in  use.  The  work  was  to  be 
performed  without  any  publicity  whatsoever  until  the  whole  task  should 
be  completed.  The  lessons  were  to  be  the  property  of  the  Conference, 
and  not  that  of  any  one  person. 


86 

Within  a  year  several  denominations  asked  that  the  members  of 
the  Conference  representing  their  respective  churches  should  act  as 
official  members  and  offered  both  financial  and  editorial  aid  in  the  work. 
In  March,  1907,  Mrs.  Barnes  wrote  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Schauffler,  Secretary 
of  the  Lesson  Committee,  setting  forth  the  ideas  of  this  Conference  and 
professing  their  loyalty  to  the  Uniform  Lessons  and  recognizing  the 
demand  for  Graded  Lessons  in  a  proportion  of  Sunday  Schools  too  large 
to  be  further  neglected. 

The  secretary  of  the  Lesson  Committee  replied  that  the  matter 
would  be  brought  before  the  Lesson  Committee  at  its  next  meeting  in 
Boston  in  April,  1907,  and  that  thus  far  the  Lesson  Committee  had  had 
no  instructions  to  issue  a  graded  course  of  lessons.  After  a  thorough 
discussion  of  the  matter  the  Lesson  Committee  agreed  to  recommend 
to  the  Louisville  Convention  in  1908,  "that  the  Lesson  Committee  be 
authorized  to  prepare  a  fourfold  grade  of  lessons  as  follows:  (1)  A 
Beginners'  Course,  permanent,  for  pupils  under  six  years  of  age. 
(2)  A  Primary  course,  permanent,  for  pupils  between  six  and  nine  years 
of  age.  (3)  A  General  Course  as  at  present  planned  for  pupils  over 
nine  years  of  age.  (4)  An  Advanced  Course  parallel  with  the  General 
(or  Uniform)  courses  to  be  prepared  by  each  Lesson  Committee  for  such 
classes  as  may  desire  it." 

The  Graded  Lesson  Conference  pressed  on  steadily  towards  its 
goal  and  by  careful  and  judical  work  brought  to  its  support  the  co- 
operation of  several  of  the  leading  denominations  until  finally  the 
Editorial  Association,  of  which  Mr.  C.  G.  Trumbull  was  chairman, 
was  requested  to  confer  with  the  Conference  and  give  it  such  aid  as  it 
should  need. 

Mr.  W.  JST.  Hartshorn,  Chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee, 
who  was  familiar  with  the  work  and  progress  of  the  "Graded  Lesson 
Conference/'  called  a  conference  of  leading  Sunday  School  workers 
to  meet  in  Boston,  January  2,  1908.  In  this  conference  were  repre- 
sentatives of  the  International  Executive  Committee,  of  the  Lesson  Com- 
mittee, of  the  Editorial  Association  and  of  the  Graded  Lesson  Con- 
ference. In  all  it  brought  fifty-four  men  and  women  together  and  the 
results  were  crystalized  in  the  following  resolutions:  (1)  "That  the 
system  of  a  general  lesson  for  the  whole  school,  which  has  been  in  success- 
ful use  for  thirty-five  years,  is  still  the  most  practicable  and  effective 
system  for  the  great  majority  of  the  Sunday  Schools  of  North  America. 
Because  of  its  past  accomplishments,  its  present  usefulness,  and  its 
future  possibilities,  we  recommend  its  continuance  and  its  fullest  de- 
velopment." (2)  "That  the  need  for  a  graded  system  of  lessons  is 
expressed  by  so  many  Sunday  Schools  and  workers  that  it  should  be 
adequately  met  by  the  International  Sunday  School  Association,  and 
that  the  Lesson  Committee  should  be  instructed  by  the  next  Inter- 
national Convention,  to  be  held  in  Louisville,  Ky.,  June  18-23,  1908,  to 
continue  the  preparation  of  a  thoroughly  graded  course  covering  the 
entire  range  of  the  Sunday  School." 

This  Conference  cleared  the  way  in  the  near  future  to  plan  definitely 
for  Graded  Lessons  and  the  Conference  turned  over  to  the  Lesson  Com- 


87 

mittee  for  its  consideration  the  lessons  it  had  prepared  in  the  three 
departments,  namely,  Beginners,  Primary,  and  Junior. 

Before  any  definite  action  could  be  taken  by  the  Lesson  Com- 
mittee, action  had  to  be  taken  by  the  International  Convention,  and  in 
its  report  in  the  Louisville  Convention  in  June,  1908,  the  Lesson  Com- 
mittee recommended  the  findings  of  the  Boston  Conference  and  the 
Convention  heartily  and  unanimously  adopted  the  report. 

The  Seventh  Lesson  Committee  as  soon  as  it  was  elected  at  Louis- 
ville, took  steps  to  carry  out  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  resolution.  A 
strong  Subcommittee  on  Graded  Lessons  was  appointed  and  instructed 
to  proceed  at  once  with  its  definite  task  that  there  might  be  an  under- 
standing with  the  publishers  as  to  the  method  and  order  of  issuance  of 
the  Graded  Lessons,  the  Lesson  Committee  held  a  conference  with 
representatives  of  the  principal  publishing  houses  at  the  close  of  the 
convention. 

The  Subcommittee  carefully  scrutinized  the  lessons  thus  prepared 
and  distributed  the  material  to  more  than  seventy  expert  Sunday  School 
critics,  carefully  considered  the  criticisms  which  were  returned  and 
issued  three  lists  in  the  final  form  to  the  lesson  writers  in  January, 
1909,  where  in  the  spring  of  1910,  less  than  eighteen  months  after  the 
first  lists  of  Graded  Lessons  were  issued — criticisms  of  the  lessons 
appeared,  which  arose  mainly  in  the  South.  These  attacked  an  alleged 
absence  of  doctrine,  the  presence  of  extra-biblical  lessons,  the  omission 
of  .many  important  topics,  and  an  attempted  interpretation  of  the  Scrip- 
tures for  the  Sunday  Schools.  The  Southern  Baptist  Convention  and  the 
Southern  Presbyterian  Church  passed  resolutions  at  their  respective 
Conventions  criticising  the  Graded  Lessons  submitted. 

At  its  meeting  in  Washington  D.  C.  in  May,  1910,  lasting  nearly 
a  week,  the  Lesson  Committee  earnestly  discussed  the  threatening  situ- 
ation and  to  protect  its  subcommittee  voted  "that  the  Lesson  Committee 
as  a  whole  for  the  future  assume  the  same  responsibility  for  the  prepar- 
ation, revision  and  publication  of  the  Graded  Lessons  as  for  the  Uniform 
Lessons."  At  a  meeting  of  the  Lesson  Committee  in  Chicago,  in  Decem- 
ber, 1910,  the  following  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted: 
"WHEREAS,  The  constituency  of  the  International  Sunday  School  Asso- 
ciation is  divided  with  respect  to  the  use  of  extra-biblical  lessons  in  the- 
Graded  Series  now  in  course  of  preparation;  and,  WHEREAS,  We  desire- 
to  meet  the  varying  needs  and  wishes  of  our  large  constituency;  therefore, 

"Resolved,  First,  That  we  adhere  to  the  historic  policy  of  making 
the  Bible  the  textbook  in  the  Sunday  School,  always  providing  the  best 
possible  courses  from  the  Bible  for  the  use  of  classes  in  every  grade  of 
the  Sunday  School. 

"Second.  That  a  parallel  course  of  extra-bibical  lessons  be  issued 
with  our  imprimatur,  whenever,  and  to  the  extent  that,  there  is  sufficient 
demand  for  them  on  the  part  of  Sunday-school  workers;  the  regular 
Biblical  and  the  parallel  extra-biblical  courses  alike  to  pass  under  the 
careful  scrutiny  of  the  Lesson  Committee  as  a  whole  before  being  issued, 
and  the  extra-biblical  lessons  also  to  be  related  as  closely  as  possible  to 
the  Scriptures. 


"Third.  That  the  Graded  Lesson  Subcommittee  be  instructed  to 
provide  Biblical  lessons  wherever  lessons  of  extra-biblical  material  occur 
in  the  seven  years'  Graded  Lesson  Courses  issued  prior  to  May,  1910, 
making  such  minor  changes  as  may  be  involved  in  carrying  out  this 
provision/' 

The  issuance  of  the  full  Biblical  Series  for  the  extra-biblical  material 
removed  the  objections  urged  by  the  Southern  Baptist  and  Presbyterian 
denominations. 

Having  been  a  member  of  the  International  Convention  since 
the  death  of  our  beloved  B.  F.  Jacobs  in  1902  and  much  of  the  time 
the  chairman  of  the  Elementary  Committee,  I  have  been  in  the  midst 
of  the  controversy  in  regard  to  the  Graded  and  Uniform  Lessons.  Mrs. 
J.  W.  Barnes  was  Secretary  of  that  Department  from  1905  to  1911, 
and  she  was  followed  by  Mrs.  Mary  Foster  Bryner,  both  of  whom  were 
fine  Elementary  teachers  and  enthusiastic  advocates  of  the  Graded 
System.  Personally  I  believed  that  it  was  not  adapted  to  and  would 
not  be  used  in  many  schools,  and  yet  in  many  others  it  would  be  used 
and  as  it  was  simply  a  means  to  an  end,  the  proper  development  of  the 
•child,  I  was  perfectly  willing  that  these  experienced  teachers  and  many 
others  of  like  belief  should  have  the  very  best  lesson  systems  for  their 
particular  school  that  the  International  Association  could  supply. 

CHAIRMEN   OF  THE  EXECUTIVE   COMMITTEE. 

Edward  Eggleston  of  Chicago  was  elected  chairman  of  the  Execu- 
tive Committee  in  1869,  Benjamin  F.  Jacobs  of  Chicago  in  1872,  and 
resigned  in  1902,  and  Andrew  H.  Mills  of  Decatur  was  elected  in  1902 
and  was  relieved  at  his  own  request  in  1914,  which  he  put  in  the  fol- 
lowing appeal  to  the  Convention  at  the  close  of  the  annual  report : 

"Twelve  years  ago  there  came  to  me  your  unexpected  and  unsought 
call  to  the  important,  responsible  and  honorable  position  as  chairman 
of  this  great  committee,  and  you  did  me  the  great  honor  of  a  unanimous 
election  and  have  repeated  it  each  succeeding  year  since  that  time,  and, 
in  addition,  you  have  four  times  unanimously  elected  me  as  your  repre- 
sentative on  the  International  Sunday  School  Association  Executive 
Committee  for  a  period  of  three  years  each,  and  I  assure  you  that  such 
confidence  and  devotion  have  made  a  deep  impression  on  my  heart  and 
life,  and  have  been  a  great  inspiration  to  me  in  the  midst  of  the 
arduous  duties  of  these  trust  positions  during  these  dozen  years. 

I  have  given  you  the  best  service  of  which  I  have  been  capable,  both 
in  the  State  and  the  International  Associations.  Many  very  important 
problems  have  been  presented  in  each  and  have  been  solved.  Some 
mistakes  have  been  made,  but  looking  back  to-day  over  the  entire  period, 
as  great  progress  has  been  made  in  the  Sunday-school  work,  as  repre- 
sented by  these  Associations,  as  in  any  department  of  human  industry 
or  religious  work.  Many  choice  spirits  have  been  met  and  splendid  life 
friendships  formed  which  grow  dearer  as  the  twlight  deepens.  For  all 
these  tokens  of  your  confidence  and  love,  your  fidelity  and  enthusiastic 
loyalty  and  cooperation  I  thank  you  out  of  an  overflowing  heart. 


89 

The  time  has  now  arrived  when  the  Master's  work  imperatively 
demands  younger  men  with  an  abundance  of  red  blood,  with  broad  vision, 
true  heart,  clear  head  and  unbounded  enthusiasm  and  devotion  to  this 
great  work.  I  would  suggest  that  you  now  divide  the  work,  selecting 
one  man  as  chairman  of  this  great  committee  and  another  man  to  be  your 
representative  on  the  International  Executive  Committee;  thus  you 
will  have  the  best  that  is  in  the  two  picked  men,  each  will  have  more  time 
and  opportunity  to  study  and  solve  the  peculiar  problems  of  his  own  field, 
and  not  have  his  energies  divided  between  the  two.  Either  one  of  these 
positions  is  a  man's  job — plus.  No  man  can  fill  either  unless  he  be 
endued  from  on  high  and  the  presence  of  the  Almighty  hovers  over  him 
like  the  pillar  of  fire  and  cloud  overshadowed  the  Israelites  in  the 
wilderness. 

During  all  these  years  my  relation  with  all  the  members  of  these 
important  committees,  with  the  general  secretaries,  field  workers,  office 
force,  and  all  other  workers,  have  been  the  most  cordial  and  pleasant,  and 
while  we  may  not  all  have  seen  all  problems  from  the  same  angle  or 
reached  the  same  conculsion,  yet  when  a  conclusion  was  reached  there  was 
no  opposition  shown,  but  hearty  accord  and  brotherly  feeling  pervaded 
both  committees ;  so  I  leave  these  positions  and  also  as  a  member  of  this 
committee  at  the  close  of  this  convention  with  no  unkind  thought  or  feel- 
ing against  any  one,  either  in  the  State  or  International  field,  but  with 
only  the  kindliest  feelings  and  tenderest  recollections  of  those  most 
pleasant  years  of  my  life  and  an  earnest  and  fervent  prayer  that  the 
Master  will  come  into  the  heart  and  life  of  my  successor  on  both  com- 
mittees in  a  marvelous  way  and  they  shall  be  instrumental  in  His  Name 
in  assisting  in  leading  the  Sunday-school  hosts  of  America  to  achieve- 
ments lying  beyond  the  keenest  vision  of  the  foremost  Sunday-school 
expert  in  the  world  of  to-day. 

The  Convention  released  Mr.  Mills  and  elected  as  Chairman  Mr. 
Lyman  B.  Vose  of  Macomb,  who  has  been  re-elected  every  year  since 
and  has  made  a  fine  and  capable  chairman. 

The  Convention  elected  Mr.  George  Cook  as  its  member  of  the  Inter- 
national Committee  and  Prof.  Frank  Ward  as  alternate.  The  Inter- 
national Executive  Committee  increased  Illinois  representation  on 
account  of  increase  in  Sunday  School  enrollment  and  it  elected  Mr. 
Andrew  H.  Mills  a  member  and  W.  S.  Eearick  alternate  as  published  in 
the  Trumpet  Call  July  6,  1914, 

ILLINOIS  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  CONVENTIONS. 

1  Dixon *Eev.  W.  W.  Harsha 1859 

2  Bloomington   *E.  M.  Guilford 1860 

3  Alton *E.    C.    Wilder .1861 

4  Chicago   *Eev.  S.  G.  Lathrop 1862 

5  Jacksonville *Isaac  Scaritt 1863 

6  Springfield    *A.  G.  Tyng 1864 

7  Peoria    *Eev.  W.  G.  Pierce 1865 

8  Eockford   .  . .  *P.  G.  Gillett . .  .1866 


90 

9  Decatur    *Wm.    Eeynolds 1867 

10  DuQuoin    *B.  F.  Jacobs 1868 

11  Bloomington   *D.   L.    Moody 1869 

12  Quincy *P.    G.    Gillett , 1870 

13  Galesburg    *J.  McKee  Peeples 1871 

14  Aurora    *C.   E.   Blackall 1872 

15  Springfield *J.  F.  Culver 1873 

16  Champaign    • *D.   W.  Whittle -. .'.  .J874 

17  Alton   *E,   H.   Griffith 1875 

18  Jacksonville *D.  L.  Moody , 1876 

19  Peoria *E,   C.   Hewitt 1877 

20  Decatur    *Bev.  F.  L.  Thompson 1878 

21  Bloomington   Eev.  C.  M.  Morton.  .'. 1879 

21  Galesburg    *Wm.    Eeynolds 1880 

23  Centralia  *J.  E.  Mason.  .. 1881 

24  Champaign    0.   E.   Brouse 1882 

25  Streater   Eev.   Win. '  Tracy 1883 

26  Springfield T.  P.  Nisbett 1884 

27  Alton   John    Benham. ., 1885 

28  Bloomington   L.   A.   Trowbridge 1886 

29  Decatur    *J.  E.  Gorin 1887 

30  Eockford    H.  T.  Lay , 1888 

31  Mattoon    Frank  Wilcox ,.  1889 

32  Jacksonville    *E.   W.   Hare ., 1890 

33  Danville , W.  C.  Pearce 1891 

34  Centralia   Eev.  H.  C.  Marshall 1892 

35  Quincy *J.  L.  Hastings 1893 

36  Peoria *Henry  Augustine 1894 

37  Elgin    W.    S.    Weld 1895 

38  Champaign    E.   C.   Willis ,....1896 

39  Belleville   Eev.  H.  E.  Fuller 1897 

40  Galesburg *  John  Farson 1898 

41  Decatur *J.   B.   Joy 1899 

42  Paris A.  H.  Mills , 1900 

43  Bloomington *Knox  P.  Taylor 1901 

44  Sterling  ,. . .    H.   E.   Clissold 1902 

45  Taylorville H.  P.  Hart 1903 

46  Mattoon Dr.  A.  E.  Taylor ,. .  1904 

47  Clinton    Eev.  Henry  Moser 1905 

48  Kankakee    ,. . .   Eev.  J.  G.  Brooks 1906 

49  East  St.  Louis J.  B.  Sikking 1907 

50  Dixon W.  W.  Eosecrans 1908 

51  Peoria    F.  D.  Everett 1909 

52  Olney Dan   Z.    Vernor 1910 

53  Quincy  J.  M.  Dunlap 1911 

54  Elgin    Geo.  E.   Cook 1912 

55  Beardstowh   E.  H.  Kinney , 1913 

56  Carbondale    A.    H.   Mills 1914 

56  Chicago 


91 

57  Danville i. . .  Rev.  H.  G.  Rowe 1915 

58  Springfield    i. .  John  H.  Hauberg .1916 

59  Kewanee Charles  W.  Watson ,. .' 1917 

60  Peoria 1918 

You  will  notice  that  four,  Messrs.  D.  L.  Moody,  1869-1876,  Dr.  P. 
G.  Gillett,  1868-1870,  William  Reynolds,  1867-1880,  and  A.  H.  Mills, 
1900-1914,  have  each  served  twice  as  President  of  our  Association. 

ILLINOIS  GENERAL  SECRETARIES. 

HERBERT  POST  was  in  1863  elected  the  first  general  secretary 
and  treasurer  of  our  Illinois  Association  and  served  without  salary  until 
1873  when 

E.  PAYSON  PORTER  of  Chicago  was  elected  as  Mr.  Post's  succes- 
sor and  he  was  succeeded  by 

C.  M.  EAMES  of  Jacksonville  who  held  such  position  until  1883 
when  he  was  succeeded  by 

W.  B.  JACOBS  who  held  the  position  for  twenty-nine  years  and  he 
was  succeeded  by 

HUGH  CORK  in  1912,  who  resigned  in  1916  and  was  succeeded  by 

CHARLES  E.  SCHENCK  who  is  our  present  Secretary. 

SECRETARIES  TO  OTHER  STATES. 

Illinois  has  furnished  other  States  with  first-class  General  Secre- 
taries as  follows : 

W.  G.  LANDES  to  Pennsylvania, 

JOHN  C.  CARMAN  to  Colorado, 

H.  M.  STEIDLEY  to  Nebraska, 

HUGH  C.  GIBSON  to  Southern  California, 

H.  E.  LUFKIN  to  Maine, 

W.  J.  SEMELROTH  to  Wisconsin, 

ARTHUR  T.  ARNOLD  to  West  Virginia  and  later  to  Ohio, 

GEORGE  W.  MILLER  to  North  Dakota, 

W.  C.  MERRITT  to  the  North  West,  and 

STUART  MUIRHEAD  to  Alberta,  Canada. 

The  following  are  new  members  of  the  Executive  Committee  during 
the  years  1913  to  1916  under  Mr.  Cork's  Administration,  and  many  of 
the  old  members  mentioned  on  page  76  are  still  acting: 
J.  M.  Dunlap.  E.  H.  Kinney.  J.  H.  Collins. 

Robert  T.  Brown.  J.  L.  Schofield.  W.  D.  Kimball. 

Hugh  S.  McGill.  C.  W.  Watson.  J.  P.  Lowry. 

Dr.  S.  A.  Wilson.  J.  C.  Wells. 

Thomas  S.  Smith.  Dr.  R.  E.  Hieronymus. 

The  following  are  the  new  members  of  the  Executive  Committee 
during  the  years  1916  to  1918  under  Mr.  Schenck's  Administration: 

H.  H.  Morse,  Clarence  L.  DePew,  Alexander  Anderson,  Charles  A. 
Wetzel. 


92 

DENOMINATIONAL  COOPERATION. 

At  the  State  Convention  at  Elgin  in  1912  the  executive  committee 
by  A.  H.  Mills,  its  chairman,  asked  the  convention  to  permit  each  denom- 
ination in  the  State  having  a  Sunday  School  membership  of  fifteen 
thousand  or  more,  to  appoint  one  of  their  representatives,  other  than  a 
salaried  officer,  as  a  regular  member  of  the  Illinois  Sunday  School 
Executive  Committee,  which  was  unamiously  voted  and  General 
Secretary  Cork  was  instructed  to  inform  the  denominations  and  re- 
quest them  to  appoint  a  temporary  member  until  their  next  annual 
denominational  State  meeting  when  such  bodies  will  be  asked  to  elect 
such  member.  At  a  subsequent  meeting  the  denominational  repre- 
sentation was  reduced  from  fifteen  thousand  to  ten  thousand,  thus  allow- 
ing additional  denominations  to  be  represented. 

The  denominations  which  have  an  enrollment  of  10,000  Sunday- 
school  members,  or  over,  in  Illinois,  were  quick  to  respond  to  the  invita- 
tions for  the  appointment  of  a  representative  on  the  State  Executive 
Committee,  and  they  have  also  recognized  this  courtesy  and  that  Illinois 
has  set  the  example  for  all  other  State  Associations  in  seeking  to  bind 
denominations  and  state  organizations  more  closely  together  so  that  the 
State  Association  can  render  a  larger  service  to  the  denominations  within 
the  state  than  it  is  possible  for  them  to  do  without  the  denominations 
have  specific  representatives  selected  by  themselves.  The  questions  of 
policy  can  be  viewed  from  different  angles  and  standpoints  and  a  position 
taken  which  is  the  strongest  possible  in  which  the  matter  can  be  placed, 
so  that  when  a  plan  is  adopted  it  may  receive  the  hearty  endorsement  of 
all  the  Sunday  School  forces  within  the  State,  so  concentrated  that  it 
makes  these  plans  at  once  effective  and  potent. 

DENOMINATIONAL  REPRESENTATIVES  FOR  1914-1915. 

Baptists Hon.    Owen    Scott 

Congregationalists Prof.  Frank  Ward 

Disciples Mr.  J.  P.  Lowry 

Lutherans , Rev.  H.  M.  Bannen 

Methodists Dr.  E.  T.  Evans 

Presbyterians , Prof.  G.  L.  Robinson 

United  Brethren Bishop  Mathews 

The  Denominational  Representatives  for  1915-16  were  the  same  as 
the  preceding  year,  except  Methodist,  Rev.  J.  S.  Dancey  taking  the  place 
of  Dr.  Evans;  Presbyterian,  Rev.  J.  N.  McDonald  taking  the  place  of 
Prof.  Robinson;  United  Brethren,  Rev.  S.  E.  Long  taking  the  place  of 
Bishop  Mathews;  Evangelical  Association,  Rev.  G.  A.  Manshardt. 

The  Representatives  for  1916-17  same  as  preceding  year,  except: 

Presbyterian Dr"  R.  H.  Beattie 

Congregationalist Dr.  James  M.  Lewis 

Disciples. Clarence  L.  DePew 

United  Evangelical Rev.  Henry  Moser 

The  Representatives  for  1917-18  same  as  preceding  year,  except: 


93 

Disciples Rev.  H.  H.  Peters 

Evangelical  Association Rev.  J.  H.  Staum 

Lutheran , (to  be  supplied) 

Methodist (to  he  supplied.    Dr.  Dancy,  Chaplain  in  France.) 

These  representatives  have  been  men  of  fine  spirit  and  they  have 
shown  great  interest  in  the  work  of  the  Association  and  we  believe  it 
would  be  a  wise  step  for  each  State  Association  to  take,  for  it  more  fully 
unites  the  forces  of  righteousness  into  one  strong  force. 

SUNDAY  SCHOOL  STATISTICS  FOR  1917-1918. 

GENERAL  SECRETARY  SCHENCE/S  REPORT: 

Sunday    Schools. , < ,     6,798 

Officers 41,415 

Teachers : „., , 61,138 

Pupils   , 733,301 

Cradle   Roll    Members , 87,811 

Home   Department   Members. 54,251 

Making  a  grand  total  of 984,714 

OUR  COLORED  BROTHERS. 

Booker  T.  Washington  at  the  International  Sunday  School  Con- 
vention at  Louisville,  Ky.  in  1908  among  other  things  said : 

"Another  thing  that  we  are  learning  as  a  race  is  that  we  have 
got  to  keep  our  feet  upon  the  earth.  A  short  time  ago  I  met  an  old 
colored  man  who  had  learned  this  lesson.  I  said,  "Uncle  Jake, 
Where  are  you  going?"  "Fse  gwine  to  camp-meeting."  I  said, 
"Are  you  able  to  go  to  camp-meeting  and  spend  a  week  in  singing 
and  shouting  ?"  "Yes,  I  ain't  been  to  camp-meeting  f  o'  eight  yeahs 
and  Fse  gwine  dis  yeah  fo'  suah.  Eight  yeahs  ago  Ah  went  to  Tus- 
kegee,  and  Ah  heard  you  teach  de  people  to  send  dere  chillen  to  Sun- 
day-school, an'  build  churches  an'  day  schools,  and  save  their  money 
an'  have  a  bank  account,  and  Ah  been  following  yo'  advice  for  eight 
years  an'  Ah  got  fifty  acres  of  land,  an'  done  paid  de  las'  dollar 
on  dat  land,  and  sah  I'se  a  right  to  go  to  campmeeting  dis  yeah. 
I'se  done  saved  mah  money,  ain't  spent  it  fo'  whiskey  an'  snuff 
an'  cheap  jewelry;  Fse  a  nice  house  on  de  land,  fo'  rooms,  painted 
inside  an'  outside,  and  Ah  done  paid  de  las'  dollar  on  de  house, 
and  Ah  suah  got  de  right  to  go  to  camp  meeting  dis  yeah.  See 
dis  wagon?  Dis  is  Jakes'  wagon.  When  Ah  first  got  free  Ah 
bought  a  buggy,  but  Ah  found  a  man  has  got  to  ride  in  a 
wagon  befo'  he  rides  in  a  buggy,  an'  Ah've  done  sold  de  buggy  an* 
bought  a  wagon  and  Ah've  done  paid  de  las'  ten  cents  on  de  wagon, 
and  shuly,  de  wagon  has  a  right  to  go  to  camp-meeting.  See  these 
two  big  black  mules?  Dese  is  Jake's  mules,  Ah've  done  paid  de 
las'  dollar  on  de  mules,  dere  is  no  mo'gage  or  debt  on  dem,  an's  suah 
de  mules  has  a  right  to  go  to  camp-meeting,  too."  Then  he  pulled 
a  cloth  from  a  basket  and  said,  "Do  you  see  dat  co'n  bread  an'  meat 
in  de  wagon?  No  sto'  bought  bread  fo'  me.  I  raised  de  co'n  and 


94 

de  ole  woman  cooked  de  bread,  an'  I  rased  de  pigs  an'  de  ole  woman 
cooked  de  meat,  an'  we  is  all  gwine  to  camp-meetin,  an'  we  is  all 
gwine  to  shout,  and  have  a  gret  big  time  because  we  got  money  in 
our  pockets  and  got  religion  in  our  hearts."  *  *  * 

"I  would  remind  you  of  his  progress  educationally.  One  hun- 
dred per  cent  were  ignorant  at  the  end  of  slavery ;  a  few  years  after- 
ward only  two  per  cent  of  us  could  read  or  write ;  at  the  present  time, 
a  little  over  forty  years  after  slavery,  fifty-seven  per  cent  of  us  can 
both  read  and  write.  Do  you  know  in  all  history  a  record  which  can 
begin  to  equal  that  ?  In  the  words  of  your  own  great  fellow-citizen, 
Henry  Watterson,  "The  world  has  never  witnessed  such  progress 
from  darkness  into  light  as  the  American  Negro  has  made  within 
forty  years." 

Our  progress  does  not  stop  with  material  possessions  and  edu- 
cation. In  porportion  as  our  people  have  the  Sunday-school  and  the 
church  and  the  day  school  and  the  college  and  the  industrial  school, 
they  become  a  more  religious  people.  It  is  not  true  that  the  peni- 
tentiaries and  jails  are  full  of  men  and  women  who  have  been  edu- 
cated at  colleges  and  universities.  I  ask  anyone  to  make  the  test. 
Go  through  the  jails  and  penitentiaries  of  the  South,  and  you  can 
not  find  fifty  men  and  women  with  college  diplomas  or  industrial 
school  diplomas.  The  people  in  the  jails  or  in  prison  have  had  no 
chance,  they  are  the  ignorant,  the  ones  who  are  away  down,  and  it 
is  our  duty  to  take  them  by  the  hand  through  the  church  and  Sun- 
day-school and  help  lift  them  up ;  and  in  proportion  as  we  do  that 
we  will  meet  our  reward. 

And  as  a  race  of  people  we  do  not  get  discouraged.  We  remem- 
ber that  in  slavery  we  were  property ;  in  the  province  of  God  we  came 
out  of  that  institution  American  citizens.  We  went  into  slavery 
without  a  language;  we  came  out  speaking  the  proud  Anglo-Saxon 
tongue.  We  went  into  slavery  pagans ;  we  came  out  of  slavery  with 
the  Bible  and  Sunday-school  literature  in  our  hands. 

There  is  a  great  duty  and  responsibility  resting  upon  the  young 
white  people  and  the  young  black  people  of  this  country.  Some  days 
ago  I  was  in  the  city  of  Eichmond,  and  I  heard  a  story  concerning 
an  old  black  man  there.  He  was  living  in  the  same  home  where  his 
mistress  lived  during  slavery,  and  she  had  planted  with  her  own 
hands  a  rose-bush  in  the  yard.  A  new  tenant  took  possession,  and 
the  new  mistress  said  to  this  old  colored  man,  "Dig  up  that  rose- 
bush." The  old  man  hesitated,  and  with  a  tear  in  his  eye,  shook  his 
head  and  went  behind  the  house.  Again  the  lady  came  out  and  said, 
"Dig  up  that  rose-bush,"  and  he  came  up  to  her,  touched  his  hat 
and  made  a  polite  bow  and  said,  "Missus,  I  likes  you,  I  want  to  obey 
you,  but  Missus,  you  don't  understand ;  these  old  hands  can't  dig  up 
that  rose-bush ;  that  rose-bush  was  planted  fifty  years  ago  by  my  old 
Missus,  and  these  hands  can't  dig  it  up;  you  must  excuse  me, 
Missus."  The  feeling  of  sympathy,  the  feeling  of  friendship  between 
the  black  people  and  the  white  people  in  the  Southland  was  planted 
here  years  ago  by  our  forefathers.  We  who  are  following  in  their 


95 

foot-steps,  black  and  white  men,  must  not  dig  up  that  old  rose-bush. 

We  must  nurture  it  with  our  tears  and  with  our  love  and  with  our 

sympathy,  and  as  we  do  it  we  will  have  the  blessing  of  Almighty 

God." 

Many  of  our  negro  schools  are  doing  fine  work  with  and  for  their 
young  people,  and.  our  Association  has  ever  been  as  ready  and  willing 
to  help  them  as  the  white  schools  or  the  schools  of  any  other  of  our  divers 
nationalities  that  are  thronging  our  cities.  God  is  bringing  to  our  very 
doors  the  children  of  all  races  from  all  climes  to  receive  the  Bread  of 
Life  that  He  has  given  to  us.  He  is  asking  us  "How  many  loaves  have 
ye.  Go  and  see?"  It  is  our  duty  to  go  and  ascertain,  report  and  bring 
"our  all"  like  the  laddie  in  the  parable  and  we  must  have  greater  faith 
than  to  say:  "But  what  are  these  among  so  many?"  Obey  the  Master 
is  your  duty  and  mine  and  the  multitude  of  all  nationalities  will  le  fed 
and  theret  will  be  bread  enough  and  to  spare. 

"GET  SOMEBODY  ELSE." 

Did  you  ever  hear  these  words  in  reply  to  a  request  to  teach  a  class 
or  assume  a  responsibility,  or  perform  some  act  for  the  uplift  of  the  com- 
munity; or  to  relieve  some  cause  of  distress;  or  to  lead  some  meeting, 
or  contribute  some  helpful  service?  This  feeling  I  often  fear  is  the 
cause  of  much  of  our  failure  to  reach  our  highest  duty  and  responsibility. 
Paul  Lawrence,  Dunbar's  little  poem  teaches  us  an  important  lesson: 

"Get  Somebody  Else. 
The  Lord  had  a  job  for  me, 

But  I  had  so  much  to  do, 
I  said,  "You  get  somebody  else, 

•  Or  wait  till  I  get  through." 
I  don't  know  how  the  Lord  came  out, 

But  He  seemed  to  get  along, 
But  I  felt 'kind  o'  sneakin'  like — 

Knowed  I'd  done  God  wrong. 

One  day  I  needed  the  Lord — 

Needed  Him  right  away; 
But  He  never  answered  me  at  all, 

And  I  could  hear  Him  say, 
Down  in  my  accusin'  heart: 

"Nigger,  I'se  got  too  much  to  do ; 
You  get  somebody  else, 

Or  wait  till  I  get  through." 

Now,  when  the  Lord  He  have  a  job  for  me, 

I  never  tries  to  shirk ; 
I  drops  what  I  have  on  hand, 

And  does  the  good  Lord's  work. 
And  my  affairs  can  run  along, 

Or  wait  till  I  get  through ; 
Nobody  else  can  do  the  work 

That  God  marked  out  for  you." 


96 
ELEMENTARY  DEPARTMENT. 

ITS  PLACE  AND  POWER. 
(Mrs.  Mary  F.  Bryner.) 

"The  Elementary  Division  is  important  because  it  includes  nearly 
one-half  of  the  Sunday-school  membership.  All  pupils  under  their  teens, 
during  the  changing  periods  of  childhood,  are  claimed  for  its  depart- 
ments, known  as  the  Cradle  Roll,  Beginners,  Primary,  and  Junior. 

The  Cradle  Roll  reaches  parents  and  children,  establishing  cooper- 
ation with  the  home.  During  childhood  early  and  lifelong  impressions 
are  given  of  the  Heavenly  Fathers  goodness  and  care,  and  the  Saviour's 
special  interest  and  love  for  the  children.  Elementary  work  deals  with 
childhood  in  the  story,  memory,  and  habit-forming  periods.  Elementary 
teachers  were  the  first  to  arrange  a  special  course  of  training,  including 
child  study,  as  well  as  Bible  study  methods  and  principles.  Child  study 
emphasizes  the  need  of  closer  grading,  so  that  the  Elementary  Division 
is  usually  more  definitely  graded  than  the  remainder  of  the  school. 

Child  study  and  closer  grading  created  an  ever-increasing  demand 
for  lessons  so  graded  as  to  "meet  the  spiritual  needs  of  the  pupil  in  each 
stage  of  his  development."  During  the  past  year  (1910)  Graded  Lessons 
have  been  provided  by  the  International  Lesson  Committee  covering  the 
two  years  Beginners,  three  years  Primary,  and  four  years  Junior  work. 

We  -must  save  the  children  to  save  America." 

CRADLE  ROLL. 

The  Cradle  Roll  aims  to  deepen  the  feeling  of  responsibility  of 
parents  for  imparting  early  spiritual  impressions  and  training  in  the 
baby's  life.  It  seeks  to  establish  a  closer  bond  of  sympathy  between  the 
church  and  home  through  interest  in  the  youngest  children.  Mr. 
Lawrence  says :  "It  is  to  take  a  mortgage  on  the  baby  and  foreclose  it 
when  the  baby  is  three  years  old"  and  take  it  into  the  Sunday  School. 
Dr.  Joseph  Clark,  (Timothy  Standby)  says:  "It's  fishin  for  the  family 
with  the  baby  as  a  bait."  Its  membership  include  from  birth  to  three 
or  four  years  of  age. 

The  world's  average  birth  rate  is  70  a  minute,  4,200  an  hour,  100,800 
a  day,  36,792,000  a  year.  One-half  of  these  are  born  in  Asia  and  about 
3,000,000  annually  in  North  America.  The  world's  population  is  prac- 
tically renewed  in  forty-five  years.  The  task  of  the  church  is  to  reach 
and  teach  as  many  as  possible  in  each  generation  and  its  hope  lies  in 
childhood. 

The  Cradle  Roll  idea  originated  with  Mrs.  Alonso  Pettit  and  was 
further  developed  by  her  sister,  Mrs.  Juliet  Dimock  Dudley,  both  asso- 
ciated as  "infant  class  teachers"  in  the  Central  Baptist  Church  of  Eliza- 
beth, N.  J.  The  idea  grew  from  a  birthday  book  in  which  Mrs.  Pettit 
began  in  1877  to  keep  a  classified  list  of  birthdays  of  the  children  be- 
longing to  her  class  whose  ages  ranged  from  four  to  twelve  years. 
Opposite  each  name  and  address  were  suggested  a  Scripture  text  and 


97 

hymn.  Each  birthday,  was  recognized  by  an  offering  brought  by  the  child 
corresponding  to  its  age,  to  be  used  for  world-wide  missions. 

In  1880  a  little  boy  brought  a  birthday  penny  for  a  child  one  year 
old.  Then  began  the  custom  of  adding  a  penny  to  the  birthday  book  of 
little  ones  too  young  to  attend  Sunday-school.  In  1883  Mrs.  Dudley 
kept  in  the  back  of  her  visiting  book  a  list  of  babies  and  little  children 
too  young  to  attend  regularly.  Soon  afterwards  "Cradle  Roll"  was 
written  over  this  list. 

During  the  next  few  years,  the  cradle  roll  idea  being  mentioned  in 
Sunday  School  periodicals  became  quite  popular. 

Mr.  W.  C.  Hall,  superintendent  of  the  Tabernacle  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Indianapolis,  became  the  champion  of  the  Cradle  Roll.  He 
insisted  that  "the  Cradle  Roll  tends  to  make  parents  feel  their  responsi- 
bility the  more.  Every  Sunday  School  has  a  right  to  have  and  ought  to 
have  a  Cradle  Roll.  God  will  surely  bless  the  efforts  to  place  children 
under  the  instruction  of  God's  consecrated  Primary  workers,"  and  in  every 
conference  of  primary  workers  this  efficient  agency  is  urged  and  im- 
pressed. 

THE  BEGINNERS  DEPARTMENT. 

In  the  early  days,  the  Sunday  School  was  divided  into  practically 
two  divisions,  the  main  school  and  the  infant  class,  the  latter  ranging 
from  two  to  nine  years.  It  was  a  very  difficult  task  to  interest  all  of 
them  upon  the  same  topic  at  the  same  time.  Golden  Texts  were  directed 
to  the  older  ones  but  they  conveyed  very  little  information  to  the  smaller 
children  and  it  was  in  that  department  felt  that  something  more  was 
needed  and  that  it  was  not  fair  to  the  children  or  to  the  teachers,  and  so 
the  matter  began  to  be  discussed  and  studied,  and  finally  the  beginners 
department  was  organized  in  many  schools,  and  it  has  more  than  justified 
the  fondest  dreams  of  its  early  advocates,  and  not  only  is  it  now  provided 
with  different  teachers,  but  it  forms  a  department  by  itself,  meeting  in 
its  separate  room  or  rooms  and  under  the  direction  of  skillful  trained 
teachers,  the  work  is  being  carried  on  with  great  success  in  many  schools 
of  our  State. 

THE  ADVANCED  DIVISION. 

ITS  PLACE  AND  POWER. 

(Eugene  C.  Foster.) 

"In  many  cases  the  Sunday-school  is  failing  to  meet  the  needs  of 
the  boy  in  his  teens,  and  it  is  the  purpose  of  this  new  department  of  our 
International  Work  to  help  the  Sunday-school  come  to  the  point  where 
such  failure  will  cease. 

The  division  will  be  the  recruiting  agency  and  a  training  school  for 
the  church." 


— 7  S  S  H 


98 
THE  ADULT  DEPARTMENT. 

ITS  PLACE  AND  POWER. 

(Mr.  W.  C.  Pearce.) 

"Its  place  is  to  win  to  the  Sunday-school,  and  enlist  in  Bible  study, 
the  men  and  women  of  the  world. 
It  is  a  movement  of  power. 

1.  Because  its  chief  mission  is  to  teach  the  scripture,  it  is  a  Bible 
study  movement,  opening  anew  the  Word  of  God  to  multitudes  of  men 
and  women. 

2.  Because  it  is  evangelistic,  emphasizing  the  teaching  of  the  gospel, 
and  developing  a  corps  of  personal  workers  that  promise  much  for  the 
saving  of  men. 

3.  Because    it    is   missionary.     Seventy-one   representative   classes 
contributed  $9,119.90  to  missions  in  one  year.     The  biblical  vision  is 
world-wide;  the  biblical  voice  says,  "Go;"  the  biblical  conscience  says, 
"Obey." 

4.  Because  it  is  cooperative.     Its  continent-wide  sweep  is  ushering 
in  a  true  Christian  brotherhood  and  imparting  new  zeal  in  every  kind  of 
Christian  endeavor. 

5.  Because  it  is  connected  with  the  Sunday-school,  enlisting  in  its 
ranks  those  who  can  supply  its  material  needs  and  provide  efficient  lead- 
ership.    It  is  also  building  a  wall  around  the  big  boy  and  the  big  girl. 

6.  Because  it  is  a  force  for  civic  righteousness,  hastening  the  doom 
of  the  liquor  traffic  and  kindred  evils,  encouraging  every  movement  of 
righteousness,  and  promising  a  day  when  the  streets  shall  be  safe  for  the 
children." 

ADULT  DEPARTMENT. 

For  many  years  in  the  early  life  of  the  Sunday  School  it  continued 
to  be  principally  a  children's  school.  Few  adults  attended,  aside  from 
the  teachers  and  officers,  and  such  were  known  as  the  Bible  Class.  So 
completely  was  this  the  case  in  many  schools  that  there  came  to  be  a 
notion  among  the  men  that  the  Sunday  School  was  simply  a  place  for 
women  and  children,  but  there  were  a  good  many  men  who  felt  that  if  the 
Sunday  School  was  a  good  place  for  women  and  children  it  was  certainly 
a  good  place  for  men — for  men  are  only  boys  grown  tall — and  out  of  this 
the  Cook  County  Illinois  Sunday  School  Association  established  the 
Adult  Department  to  advance  the  organization  of  Adult  Classes  in  the 
Sunday  School.  The  same  year  a  similar  action  was  taken  by  the  Illi- 
nois Sunday  School  Association,  it  being  the  intention  of  those  in 
charge  that  the  Adult  Department  in  schools  was  for  the  purpose  of  unit- 
ing all  classes  for  adults,  whether  there  were  men's  classes,  women's 
classes,  or  mixed  classes.  The  range  of  age  was  wide,  from  twenty-one 
to  three  score  and  beyond.  In  these  organizations  there  were  certain 
definite  and  fixed  principles  and  methods  of  organization  adopted. 
There  was  to  be  a  president,  vice-president,  secretary,  treasurer,  and  at 
least  three  committees,  devotional,  membership,  and  social.  The  teacher 
was  not  to  have  any  official  connection  with  the  class  aside  from  being  its 


99 

selected  teacher.  These  committees,  as  the  names  would  indicate,  were 
given  free  discretion  within  their  respective  boundary  to  make  the  class 
as  religious  and  as  strong  as  possible.  The  class  became  a  specific  unit 
and  in  a  short  time  began  to  look  about  to  see  what  it  could  do,  not  only 
to  help  itself,  but  to  help  the  school  and  church  with  which  it  was  con- 
nected ;  also  reaching  out  into  the  village  or  city  in  which  it  was  located, 
and  they  became  imbued  with  the  idea  that  they  were  indeed  and  in 
truth  their  brother's  and  sister's  keeper,  that  they  were  to  render  help 
for  those  who  were  struggling  after  a  cleaner  and  purer  life. 

Mr.  Pearce  left  the  Illinois  Sunday  School  Association  where  he 
had  labored  for  many  years  under  the  direction  of  B.  F.  and  W.  B. 
Jacobs,  the  chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee,  and  General  Secre- 
tary of  the  Illinois  Sunday  School  Association.  He  received  his  train- 
ing under  these  Christly  men  and  was  well  fitted  to  the  work  to  which  he 
was  called  in  Cook  County.  He  took  hold  of  the  matter  with  great  vigor 
and  remained  there  three  years,  until  his  efficient  work  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  International  Sunday  School  Association  and  then  he 
was  called  to  the  Adult  Department  of  the  International  Sunday  School 
Association.  During  the  time  that  Mr.  Pearce  was  Secretary  of  the  Cook 
County  Association,  Mr.  Herbert  L.  Hill  devised  a  little  button  known  as 
the  Adult  Class  button,  with  a  red  ring  around  a  white  center,  indicating  a 
clean  life,  cleansed  by  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ.  This  was  adopted  as 
the  emblem,  not  only  of  the  Cook  County  Association,  but  of  the  Illinois 
Sunday  School  Association  for  the  Adult  Department. 

After  Mr.  Pearce  was  transferred  to  the  International  Sunday 
School  Association,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  recommend  or  select 
a  symbol  for  the  Adult  Department  of  the  International  Sunday  School 
Association,  and  after  a  conference  by  the  committee,  of  which  your 
speaker  was  chairman,  the  little  red  button,  the  symbol  of  the  Illinois 
Adult  Department,  was  selected,  and  became  the  button  or  badge  of  the 
Adult  Department  of  the  International  Sunday  School  Association,  and 
through  its  agency  has  belted  the  world. 

THE  HOME  DEPARTMENT. 

(Dr.  W.  A.  Duncan,  Its  Founder.) 

"The  Home  Department  is  the  University  Extension  of  the  church, 
and  offers,  through  membership,  the  open  Bible  and  Home  Class  Visi- 
tation to  every  home,  man,  woman  and  Cradle-Boll  child  in  the  world, 
not  already  connected  with  some  other  department,  unable  or  unwilling 
to  attend." 

THE  MISSIONARY  DEPARTMENT. 

ITS  PLACE  AND  POWER. 

(Mr.  W.  A.  Brown.) 

"The  work  of  missionary  education  in  the  Sunday-school  ought  to 
find  expression  both  in  better  living  and  in  increased  gifts.  When  the 
•Sunday-school  is  once  aroused  to  its  missionary  opportunity,  the  conquest 


100 

of  the  world  for  Jesus  Christ  will  soon  be  an  accomplished  fact.  The 
International  Sunday-school  Association  encourages  the  formation  of 
missionary  departments  in  state,  provincial,  county,  township,  and 
kindred  organizations  through-out  its  entire  field,  and  urges  the  adoption 
of  a  policy  for  local  schools  which  shall  include:  the  creation  of  a 
missionary  atmosphere;  a  missionary  committee;  weekly  missionary 
offerings;  monthly  missionary  programs;  missionary  instruction;  a 
missionary  section  of  the  library;  a  prayerful  cultivation  of  the  spirit 
of  consecration  for  personal  service ;  a  course  on  missions  for  adult  classes 
for  eight  weeks  a  year ;  giving ;  teacher-training  and  graded  lessons. 

Missionary  interest  and  activity  in  any  Sunday-school  insures  its 
own  success  and  life.  The  lack  of  it  is  an  indication  of  approaching 
apathy  and  death." 

THE  TEMPERANCE  DEPARTMENT. 

ITS  PLACE  AND  POWER. 
(Mrs.  Zillah  Foster  Stevens.) 

"A  Temperance  Department  in  the  Sunday-school  strives  for  the 
following  : 

1.  Temperance  Education   educates  every   Sunday-school  member 
for:     (a)  Total  Abstinence;  (b)  the  Destruction  of  the  Liquor  Traffic; 
(c)  the  Extinction  of  the  Cigarette  Habit;  (d)  the  Surrender  of  every 
Self-indulgence  which  impairs  or  destroys  the  power  to  give  service  to 
God  and  service  to  man. 

2.  Regular  Time  for  Temperance  Teaching   (a)    Observe  all  ap- 
pointed Quarterly  Temperance  Sundays;   (b)    (special)   Anti-Cigarette 
Day — Temperance    Sunday    for    the    Second    Quarter;    (c)     (special) 
World's  Temperance  Sunday, — the  fourth  Sunday  in  November — to  be 
emphasized  as  Christian  Citizenship  Day. 

3.  Organization.     A    Temperance   Department   in    every    Sunday- 
school  conducted  by  a  temperance  Superintendent. 

4.  Pledge  Signing.     Enroll  every  Sunday-school  member  of  proper 
age  as  a  pledge  signer." 

TEACHER  TRAINING. 

ITS    PLACE   AND  POWER. 
(Dr.  Franklin  McElfresh.) 

"The  greatest  need  of  the  church  is  a  true  school  of  religion  as  a 
well-developed  institution  on  the  church  itself.  The  greatest  need  of  the 
church  is  a  double  number  of  trained,  consecrated  teachers  in  the 
Sunday-school.  The  organized  effort  to  supply  this  deep  want  is  the 
Teacher-Training  Department.  It  aims  to  give  to  both  the  teachers  of 
to-day  and  the  teachers  of  tomorrow  four  things:  a  grasp  of  the  Bible 
as  a  whole;  a  view  of  the  child  in  the  light  of  modern  education;  and 
outline  of  the  tried  methods  of  religious  pedagogy;  and  an  insight  into 
the  management  and  organization  of  the  school.  Holding  aloft  new 
standards  for  service  in  teaching  in  the  schools  of  the  church  promises 


101 

a  noble  temper  and  the  conquering  power  of  a  clear  faith  in  the  gener- 
ation who  will  rule  tomorrow." 

Our  International  Association  has  a  fine  Training  School  at  Lake 
Geneva,  Wisconsin,  under  the  efficient  leadership  of  Mr.  W.  C.  Pearce 
and  a  corps  of  fine  teachers  to  which  every  county  in  our  State  should 
send  not  less  than  one  young  teacher  each  year.  A  new  building  has  been 
erected  dedicated  to  Dr.  H.  M.  Hamill. 

HOME  VISITATION. 

ITS  PLACE  AND  POWER. 
(Mr.  J.  Shreve  Durham.) 

"The  greatest  department  of  the  organized  Sunday-school  work: 
"The  Home  Visitation  Department."  Through  it  Americans  can  know 
one  another  and  one  another's  conditions.  Through  it  we  can  reach 
everybody  everywhere.  Through  it  every  department  of  Sunday-school 
and  church  work  can  be  best  served :  Locating  the  babies  for  the  Cradle- 
Koll,  and  the  "Shut-in"  for  the  Home  Department,  and  all  others  for  the 
main  sessions  of  the  Sunday-school  and  church — reaching,  teaching  and 
saving  all  the  people  of  America  and  the  entire  world. 

Again  "May  11,  1918.  We  have  just  completed  one  of  the  most 
successful  Home  Visitations  in  the  history  of  the  Visitation  work. 

Columbia  has  one  of  the  most  important  Army  Camps  in  our  Coun- 
try, with  many  thousands  of  new  people  in  the  City  as  well  as  in  the 
Camp.  This  Work  has  placed  all  of  the  people  in  touch  with  the  Church, 
Synagogue  and  Sunday  School  of  their  choice. 

Have  you  thought  of  the  fact  that  while  our  Nation  is  trying  to 
unite  all  interests  at  this  time,  the  Home  Visitation  is  the  only  great 
Movement  uniting  all  our  religious  interests — without  which  no  other 
interest  can  stand  permanently  ?" 

SUNDAY  SCHOOL  ARCHITECTURE, 

In  the  early  history  of  the  Sunday  School,  not  only  in  Illinois, 
but  elsewhere,  it  was  thought  that  any  place  would  be  good  enough  for 
the  Sunday  School.  Even  in  some  churches,  the  church  building  was 
denied  the  Sunday  School  for  its  use,  the  teachers  being  compellel  to 
secure  other  quarters  for  the  convening  of  the  school,  but  after  the  Adult 
Department  was  organized  and  it  caught  a  vision  of  its  possibilities  and 
responsibilities,  then  there  was  nothing  that  was  too  good  for  the  Sunday 
School  and  men  of  broad  and  constructive  minds  began  to  study  the 
subject  of  the  Sunday  School  and  its  needs,  and  as  a  result  of  this  line 
of  work  many  first  class  buildings  have  been  erected,  combining  in  their 
architectural  designs,  the  highest  possible  efficiency  of  the  Sunday  School 
as  the  great  working  heart  of  the  Church  itself.  These  are  now  not  only 
found  in  the  large  cities,  but  many  of  them  in  the  smaller  villages  and 
even  in  the  countryside,  having  separate  class  rooms  provided  for  the 
pupils  of  the  different  grades  and  were  Paxson  to  return  and  go  up  and 
down  Illinois  he  would  probably  be  more  astonished  at  the  improve- 


102 

ment   of   Sunday   School   architectural   features,   than   at    almost   any 
other  phase  of  the  Sunday  School  work. 

ATHLETIC  LEAGUES. 

There  are  three  types  of  Sunday  School  athletic  activities.  The 
first  is  simple  in  form,  which  consists  of  Sunday  Schools  uniting  and 
forming  a  league  in  base  ball,  basket  ball  or  bowling.  The  second  type 
is  wider  in  its  scope,  its  activities  not  only  including  leagues  of  base  ball, 
basket  ball,  track  and  field  athletics,  both  indoor  and  out,  gymnasium, 
and  tests  of  physical  strength,  and  even  frequently  a  camp  for  the  sum- 
mer, cross-country  hikes  and  instruction  in  swimming  and  first  aid  as 
that  given  to  the  Boy  Scouts.  These  are  under  trained  leaders  in  the 
various  churches  and  are  frequently  accompanied  by  lectures  or  talks  on 
kindred  subjects. 

The  league  is  usually  under  the  direction  of  representative  Sun- 
day School  men  in  conjunction  with  the  General  Secretary  of  the  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  and  frequently  they  have  a'badge  or  button. 

The  third  form  is  one  of  still  larger  variety  of  activity  with  more 
phases  and  features  of  Sunday  School  work.  Some  phase  of  these  activi- 
ties is  found  in  many  schools  of  Illinois. 

WHAT  THE   INTERNATIONAL  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  ASSO- 
CIATION STANDS  FOR. 

(President  E.  Y.  Mullins,  D.  D.,  Louisville.) 

First — It  seeks  to  enlist  all  Sunday-schools  in  the  common  study 
of  the  lesson,  but  never  to  organize  schools. 

Second — It  seeks  to  enlist  all  Sunday-schools  in  the  adoption  of  the 
best  methods  of  promoting  efficiency  in  the  work  of  teacher-training. 

Third — It  seeks  in  all  proper  ways  to  enlist  theological  seminaries 
to  the  extent  of  giving  due  recognition  to  the  Sunday-school  in  their 
curriculum. 

Fourth — It  disclaims  all  creed-making  power,  and  the  sole  function 

.  of  its  Lesson  Committee  is  to  select  topic,  the  Scripture  and  the  Golden 

text,  leaving  interpretation  of  the  Scripture  to  the  various  denominations. 

Fifth — It  disclaims  all  authority  over  the  churches  and  denom- 
inations. 

Sixth — It  disclaims  all  legislative  functions,  save  within  its  own 
sphere  and  for  its  own  proper  ends. 

Seventh — -The  work  it  seeks  to  do  is  confined  to  the  common  ground 
occupied  by  all  the  various  denominations  cooperating  with  it,  as  ground 
which  these  bodies  have  found  can  best  be  occupied  through  this  common 
organization.  The  common  ground  and  interests  are  chielfly  as  follows : 

(a)  A  uniform  lesson  system,  graded  or  otherwise. 

(b)  The  propagation  of  the  best  methods  and  ideals  in  Sunday- 
school  pedagogy. 

(c)  The  promotion  in  all  proper  ways  of  teacher-training. 


103 

(d)  The  promotion  of  all  Sunday-school  life  and  progress  through 
inspirational  conventions  and  associations  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  all 
the  denominations. 

Eighth — The  Association  recognizes  that  in  many  of  the  above  lines 
of  activity  the  various  denominations  prosecute  plans  and  methods  of 
their  own.  In  all  such  cases  the  International  Association  seeks  not  to 
hinder  or  trespass  but  to  help.  In  short,  it  offers  itself  as  the  willing 
servant  of  all  for  Jesus'  sake.  It  seeks  to  be  a  clearing-house  of  the 
best  methods  and  best  plans  in  the  Sunday-school  world.  Above  all, 
it  seeks  to  be  the  means  of  extending  a  knowledge  of  the  Bible,  the 
inspired  Word  of  God,  through  the  Sunday-school  to  the  whole  world/* 

PEORIA. 

This  is  the  fifth  time  that  this  central,  important,  and  second  city 
in  our  State  has  opened  its  hearts  and  homes  to  our  Association — in 
1865,  1877,  1894,  1909,  and  now  in  1918,  the  year  we  reach  our  first 
centennial  milestone,  as  one  of  the  great  integral  factors  in  the  greatest 
Nation  on  Earth.  During  that  time  we,  as  a  State,  have  made  important 
contributions  to  its  wealth,  education,  and  evangelization,  in  fact  to  all 
the  elements  that  make  up  true  greatness  of  any  people,  whether  we  take 
the  short  view  or  the  long  view,  the  temporal  or  the  eternal,  this  earthly 
life  or  the  immortal  life. 

This  city  like  every  other  city  of  Illinois  has  had  a  dual  civilization, 
its  Dr.  Jeckyl  and  its  Mr.  Hyde  civilizations.  These  have  often  clashed 
in  their  history  and  development.  This  city  was  the  home  of  William 
Reynolds — that  mighty  man  of  God — so  full  of  loving  services  to  uplift 
humanity  into  the  very  presence  of  the  Son  of  God,  the  Saviour  of  the' 
World  that  when  the  death  messenger  came  he  quietly  said  "I  die  with 
the  harness  on,"  giving  the  last  full  measure  of  devotion  to  the  cause  of 
Him  whom  he  loved  more  than  life  itself.  This  old  world  was  and 
always  will  be  better,  richer,  safer  for  humanity  because  this  great  soul 
lived  to  its  highest  and  truest  nobility. 

This  city  was  the  home  of  that  brilliant  orator,  the  greatest  of  his 
day — Robert  G.  Ingersoll — the  great  agnostic,  who,  while  exhibiting  in 
his  daily  life,  many  noble  traits,  he  and  his  brother  Eben  shaking  hands 
every  time  they  met,  no  matter  how  many  times  a  day  that  might  be, 
yet  the  eloquent  infidel  did  much  to  wreck  the  faith  and  crush  out  love 
and  hope,  not  only  in  this  life,  but  in  that  higher  and  better  life  that  is 
revealed  in  the  Book  of  Books ;  yet  when  death,  the  dread  monster  stalked 
into  the  Ingersoll  home  and  touched  that  beloved  brother,  Robert  G.  felt 
the  blow  most  keenly  and  as  that  loved  form  was  lowered  into  its  last 
resting  place,  the  dread  silence  was  broken  by  the  agonizing  cry  out  of 
the  great  agnostic's  crushed  heart,  "Faith  sees  a  star  and  listening  love 
hears  the  rustle  of  a  wing." 

Peoria,  the  rich  mansion  of  John  Barley  Corn,  the  greatest  enemy 
of  humanity,  was  also  the  home  of  Zillah  Foster  Stevens,  that  flaming 
"Joan  of  Arc"  that  went  up  and  down  the  nation  arousing  and  assem- 
bling the  childhood,  the  motherhood  and  the  Christian  manhood  against 


104 

this  great  enemy  of  the  human  race,  that  causes  more  suffering  and 
sorrow  than  famine  and  war  combined,  until  to-day  in  the  midst  of  the 
World  War,  the  greatest  of  all  the  ages,  the  days  of  John  Barley  Corn 
are  numbered.  This  war  will  not  cease,  in  my  judgment,  until  our 
Government  and  its  Allies  shall  rise  to  that  degree  of  patriotic  duty  to  the 
highest  and  best  interest  of  the  human  race  that  they  shall  say:  "No 
more  grain  shall  be  used  to  destroy  manhood,  crush  womanhood  and 
damn  childhood  but  that  it  shall  every  bit  be  used  to  feed  and  nourish  our 
brave  Soldiers  and  Sailors,  and  the  toiling  millions  of  our  dependents." 
But  friends,  that  time  may  not  be  far  distant.  This  generation  will  not 
pass  until  old  John  Barley  Corn  will  be  buried  face  downward  so  that  the 
more  he  digs  the  deeper  he  is  buried. 

Peoria  is  the  past  and  present  home  of  some  of  the  most  distinguished 
Sunday  School  experts  in  the  Sunday  School  world ;  of  beautiful  homes, 
fine  churches  and  Sunday  Schools ;  public  schools,  and  colleges  and  insti- 
tutes, large  manufactories  and  its  big  tractors  that  have  made  the  cold 
chills  chase  each  other  up  and  down  the  Kaiser's  spine  and  he  begins  to 
•realize  that  Uncle  Sam  is  "coming  with  the  goods." 

AN  APPRECIATION. 

Before  the  final  word  of  this  paper  shall  be  spoken,  I  desire  to  thank 
all  who  have  in  any  way  contributed  in  its  preparation,  either  in  sug- 
gestions made  or  material  furnished,  but  especially  do  I  wish  to  here 
record  the  helpful  ministries  of  Brothers,  W.  C.  Pearce,  C.  E.  Schenck, 
J.  H.  Collins,  and  W.  J.  Hostetler,  and  of  Sisters  Mrs.  Mary  F.  Bryner, 
Miss  Mary  I.  Bragg,  Mrs.  W.  C.  Pearce,  and  last  but  by  no  means  least 
of  Miss  Lillian  Ashmore,  my  faithful  stenographer,  without  whose 
fidelity,  industry  and  loving  service  this  paper  could  not  have  been  pre- 
pared ;  and  my  earnest  prayer  is  that  the  Master's  Blessing  may  rest  and 
abide  upon  each  and  all  of  them  in  great  power. 


105 


INDEX. 


PAGE. 

Foreword      

A    Mosiac     6 

The    Beginning 7 

Robert    Raikes     7 

First    Sunday     School 8 

Y.  M.  C.  A.  organized 8 

First  Macon  County  S.   S.  at  Mt.  Zion,    1831 10 

The    Illinois    S.    S.    Convention 11 

Importance  of  S.   S.   by  great  men 16 

Hazard 11 

Jacobs     11 

Reynolds     11 

Moody     11 

The    Old    Guard 17 

Stephen  Paxson    18 

John    M.    Peck 19 

Peter    Cartwright    22 

Dr.    Edward    Eggleston 22 

J.    McKee    Peeples 23 

Philip    G.    Gillett 24 

John   H.   Vincent 25 

Marshall   C.   Hazard 26 

Dwight    L.    Moody 27 

William  Reynolds    29 

"Illinois  greatest  State   in  Union • 30 

Mr.  Reynolds'  S.  S.  Class  of  Girls , 31 

"Delivering    car    load    of    potatoes    and    Onions    to    Gen.    Grant's    Army    at 

Vicksburg"     32 

Hamill's   Tribute    32 

Jacobs    Tribute     i 33 

B.    F.    Jacobs A. 35 

Soldier  Boys  - >A 35 

Hamill's     Tribute .  37 

At  Exeter   Hall 37 

"Quieting  child ;  mother  in  coffin  in  baggage  car" 39 

Resolutions 41 

Estimates  of  Worth  of  B.  F.  Jacobs 43 

Editor   Ladies    Home    Journal .  .• 43 

Poem    "Illinois"    44 

William    B.    Jacobs 45 

Testimonial      46 

"A    bouquet"     48 

Resolutions     51 

Dr.    Howard   Hamill 54 

Tour  of  the  Orient. 56 

Training   School     56 

Major   D.    Whittle 56 

Charles    M.    Morton 57 

"Only    a    Christian" 57 

Dr.    Christopher   R.    Blackall 57 

Reece    G.     Griffith 58 

E.  O.     Excell 59 

Sang  experience  "Saved  a  poor  sinner  like  me" 59 

Cork  wrote  in  Trumpet  Call 60 

David    C.    Cook 60 

Edgar    H.     Nichols 61 

F.  A.    Wells 61 

William    C.    Pearce 62 

"Who'd  have  been  er?" 62 

Marion  Lawrence  64 

Edward  K.  Warren ' 65 

"Saloon  keeper"  66 

Dr.  John  Potts 67 

Hugh  Cork  67 

Miss  Mary  I.  Bragg 68 

Mrs.  Mary  Foster  Bryner 69 

— 8   S   S   H 


JOG 

PAGE. 

Mrs.    M.    S.    Lamoreaux ^ 71 

Mrs.   Herbert  L.   Hill 71 

George    W.    Miller 72 

Arthur    T.    Arnold 72 

Henry    Moser    72 

Charles    E.    Schenck 72 

George    P.    Perry 72 

Mrs.    Zillah   Foster   Stevens 73 

Mrs.    H.    M.    Leyda 73 

Miss    Pearl    Weaver 73 

Miss   Wilhelmina   Stooker 74 

The   International    Uniform    Lessons 74 

The    International    Graded    Lessons 82 

Chairmen  of  the  Executive  Committee 88 

Illinois    Sunday    School    Conventions 89 

Illinois    General    Secretaries 91 

Secretaries    to    other    states 91 

Denominational    Cooperation    92 

Denominational    Representatives    for    1914-15 92 

Sunday  School   Statistics  for   1917-1918 93 

Our    Colored     Brothers 93 

"Booker    T.    Washington" 93 

"Get    Somebody    Else" 95 

Elementary    Department     96 

Cradle    Roll,    96 

Beginners    Department     97 

Advanced    Division     97 

The    Adult    Department 98 

The   Home   Department 99 

The    Missionary    Department 99 

The    Temperance    Department 100 

Teacher    Training    100 

Home   Visitation    101 

S.    S.    Architecture 101 

Athletic    Leagues     102 

What  International  S.  S.  Assn.  Stands  for 102 

Peoria     103 

An    Appreciation    104 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 

MA62H4UNOREDYEARS0OF  SUNDAY  SCH 


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